By Alex Lawler, Olesya Astakhova and Dmitry Zhdannikov
LONDON/MOSCOW (Reuters) – OPEC+ could delay its planned December oil production increase by a month or more, four sources close to the matter told Reuters on Wednesday, citing concerns about soft oil demand and increasing supply.
The OPEC+ group, which combines the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other allies, will increase production by 180,000 barrels per day in December. The country had already postponed the increase from October due to falling prices.
However, prices remain under pressure partly due to weak demand, raising concerns among the group about increasing supply. A decision to postpone the increase could come as early as next week, two sources said.
“The December rate hike could be postponed because the market is not healthy enough,” one of the sources said.
The prospect of a further slowdown in OPEC+ hikes helped boost oil prices by more than 2% on Wednesday. Still, it’s trading around $72 a barrel, not far above the year’s low reached in September.
OPEC and the Saudi government communications agency did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The office of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak declined to comment. Novak said this month that it was too early to judge whether the market would need more oil.
Three of the sources, people familiar with the OPEC+ talks, said the December hike could be delayed by at least a month, while the fourth, an OPEC+ delegate, did not specify a time frame. All declined to be named.
The planned increase of 180,000 barrels per day is a fraction of the 5.86 million barrels per day of production that OPEC+ is holding back, equivalent to about 5.7% of global demand. OPEC+ has approved these cuts in separate steps since 2022 to support the market.
The December increase should come from the eight OPEC+ members who agreed in September to begin a gradual phase-out of the group’s latest production cuts – a cut of 2.2 million barrels per day – from December 2024 until next year.
The remaining OPEC+ cuts of 3.66 million barrels per day will remain in effect until the end of 2025.
OPEC+ ministers will hold a full meeting of the group on December 1 to decide on policy.
