The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) met Apr. 27, a day earlier than previously planned, and decided to keep the current plan to gradually raise production. The news comes amid growing concerns that a surge in COVID-19 cases in India could lead to notable oil demand destruction.
In a statement, OPEC+ said it “decided on the continued implementation of the production adjustment decision” of the Apr. 1 meeting during which the decision was made to gradually lift oil production by 350,000 b/d in May, 350,000 b/d in June, and 441,000 b/d in July. It had been holding back around 8 million b/d of output, including Saudi Arabia’s voluntary cut of 1 million b/d. Saudi Arabia also planned to ease its voluntary cut over the 3-month period. In total, the group agreed to bring 2.1 million b/d back to the market from May to July, easing cuts to 5.8 million b/d.
The OPEC+ group highlighted the continuing recovery in the global economy, but also noted that, even though more than 1 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses had been administered globally, it was concerned that surges in new virus cases in India, Brazil, and Japan might derail recovering demand for crude.
It was decided that the 30th JMMC Meeting and the 17th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting will take place on June 1, 2021.
