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OPEC+ to keep oil production steady

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At its latest meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC), a panel of ministers from oil-producing countries participating in the OPEC+ deal decided to keep production quotas unchanged.

The OPEC+ group brings together the members of OPEC with other oil-producing countries, most notably Russia, with an interest in stabilising the global oil market.

While the group does not include other producers like the US-based Chevron and ExxonMobil, the makers of the Texaco and Mobil lubricant and coolant products, it controls enough of the world’s production to have a substantial effect on oil prices.

With supply being relatively tight due to ongoing tensions in the Middle East and attacks on Russian refineries, oil prices have gradually risen this year. Following the OPEC+ group’s announcement, Brent Crude mostly traded over $90 a barrel.

The organisation also announced that some members would cut production to compensate for previous overproduction. S&P Commodity Insights estimates that OPEC+ overproduced by 275,000 barrels per day (bpd) and 175,000 bpd in January and February, respectively. In a press release, OPEC said:

“The Committee welcomed the Republic of Iraq and the Republic of Kazakhstan’s pledge to achieve full conformity as well as compensate for overproduction. The Committee also welcomed the announcement by the Russian Federation that its voluntary adjustments in the second quarter of 2024 will be based on production instead of exports.”

It added that countries that have overproduced would submit detailed plans to compensate for this by the end of April. The panel is set to meet again on June 1.

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