Sources told Reuters that the OPEC+ alliance plans to agree on Sunday to increase production quotas by about 188,000 barrels per day starting in September, then suspend any further increases in production, thereby canceling the entire voluntary cuts.
The seven core OPEC+ member countries agreed to increase their monthly production quotas for most of this year. However, these increases largely remained on paper due to disruptions to exports from the Gulf states, Russia, and Kazakhstan caused by the wars in Iran and Ukraine. These countries include Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Kazakhstan, and Oman.
An OPEC+ delegate and a source in the alliance said the group is likely to suspend production increases for the rest of the year after September, as the alliance engages in potentially difficult negotiations over new production quotas.
The planned increase in September would complete the gradual unwinding of a 1.65 million barrel per day cut, originally agreed upon in 2023, when the group included the United Arab Emirates, which withdrew from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in May.
OPEC+ is currently reviewing the oil production capacities of its members, to use them as baselines for production for 2027, and to determine quotas based on them.
Suspending increases after September will maintain cuts dating back to 2022, estimated at around 2 million barrels per day, until the group decides on additional quotas for members.
Some members of the alliance, such as Iraq, are pushing for higher individual quotas that reflect their greater production capacities.
