OPEC+ to further speed up oil output hikes, sources say
LONDON/MOSCOW—Opec+ will accelerate oil output hikes and could bring back to the market as much as 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) by November, five Opec+ sources said as the group’s leader Saudi Arabia seeks to punish some fellow members for producing above quotas.
Opec+ shocked oil markets in April by agreeing a bigger-than-expected output hike for May despite weak prices and slowing demand.
Opec’s de facto leader Saudi Arabia designed the move to punish Iraq and Kazakhstan for poor compliance with production quotas, sources have said.
In December, Opec+ agreed to gradually phase out the 2.2 million bpd voluntary part of total cuts by the end of September 2026 but decided in April to accelerate this process from May.
The group agreed another big output hike for June on Saturday, taking the total it plans to release in April, May and June to nearly 1 million bpd.
Opec+ will maintain the trend and will likely agree in June to release another 411,000 bpd in July, the five Opec+ sources said.
If compliance does not improve, the voluntary cuts will be unwound by November, one of the sources said, referring to the 2.2 million bpd portion of cuts by eight members.
