OPEC+ likely to maintain oil output targets for December
What's the story
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, collectively known as OPEC+, are likely to maintain their December oil production targets. The decision will be made during an online meeting on October 31. It comes in light of supply disruptions and production constraints due to the ongoing Iran war.
Meeting
Seven major members to attend online meeting
The upcoming OPEC+ meeting will be attended by seven major members of the alliance - Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Kazakhstan and Oman.
Despite the Iran war disrupting exports, most Gulf producers are still falling short of their assigned production quotas.
This has complicated the alliance's efforts to manage supply effectively amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.
Production cut
Gulf producers struggling to meet assigned production quotas
OPEC+ recently completed the phased rollback of a production cut of 1.65 million barrels per day (bpd) in September. This reduction was first agreed upon in 2023. However, due to disruptions linked to Iran war, Gulf producers are struggling to meet their assigned production quotas.
Future focus
Negotiations over production quotas for 2027
Reportedly, OPEC+ is likely to keep its production targets unchanged for the fourth quarter of 2026. Instead, it will shift its focus toward negotiations over production quotas for 2027.
The alliance also has another layer of production cuts, totaling around two million bpd, covering most member countries until the end of 2026.