LONDON (Reuters) – OPEC+ chief ministers will meet on Thursday to decide production policy. Sources expect the country is unlikely to make any changes to the current deal to cut output and start phasing out some cuts from October, despite recent sharp falls in oil prices.
Top ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia, or OPEC+ as the group is known, will hold an online joint ministerial monitoring committee (JMMC) meeting on Thursday at 10am GMT.
Five OPEC+ sources told Reuters this week that there would likely be no changes to the current plan.
Oil fell from a 2024 high above $92 a barrel in April to trade around $81 on Wednesday, pressured by concerns about the strength of demand, but found support this week on rising tensions in the Central East. [O/R]
OPEC+ is currently cutting production by a total of 5.86 million barrels per day (bpd), or about 5.7% of global demand, in a series of steps agreed since late 2022.
At its last meeting in June, the group agreed to extend cuts of 3.66 million barrels per day for a year until the end of 2025 and to complete the latest tier of cuts – a 2.2 million barrels per day cut by eight members – to be extended by three months until the end. from September 2024.
The current plan also calls for OPEC+ to phase out cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day over the course of a year, from October 2024 to September 2025.
The JMMC, which groups oil ministers from Saudi Arabia, Russia and other leading producers, usually meets every two months and can make recommendations to the broader OPEC+ group.
