Key OPEC+ oil producers have agreed to raise production quotas again from September, according to sources cited by Bloomberg.
Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Kazakhstan and Oman will increase their September production target by about 188,000 barrels a day. The group had already agreed similar increases for June, July and August.
In practice, OPEC+ output remains well below those quotas. Exports from Gulf states have been disrupted by the war in Iran and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Organisation figures previously showed that OPEC+ countries pumped just over 36 million barrels a day in June. That was a sharp fall from nearly 43 million barrels a day in February, before the war in Iran began at the end of that month.
Reuters had earlier also reported that another increase was coming. OPEC+ cut production in 2023 to support oil prices, but has been gradually unwinding those curbs for some time.
Between April and August, the seven countries raised their quotas by 958,000 barrels a day. Reuters calculated that a further increase of about 188,000 barrels a day in September would fully reverse the earlier cuts, taking into account the United Arab Emirates’ departure from the group earlier this year.
Oil prices have risen sharply because of the conflict in the Middle East and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Last month, Brent crude, the benchmark that includes Middle Eastern oil, briefly climbed above $100 a barrel. It is now trading at nearly $88 a barrel.
OPEC+ later confirmed the quota increase and said its next meeting would take place on 6 September. Bloomberg reported that, after the September rise, the group plans to keep production quotas unchanged for the rest of the year.
