The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia-led allies (OPEC+) agreed in a meeting Sept. 1 to stick to the existing plan to gradually increase oil production.
OPEC+ agreed in July to phase out record output cuts by 400,000 b/d on a monthly basis starting August 2021 until phasing out the 5.8 million b/d production cut. In December 2021, the group will assess market developments and participating countries’ performance (OGJ Online, July 19, 2021).
"While the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to cast some uncertainty, market fundamentals have strengthened and OECD stocks continue to fall as the recovery accelerates," OPEC+ said in a statement.
OPEC+ experts recently raised their forecast of oil demand growth in 2022 to 4.2 million b/d from the previous 3.28 million b/d, which may lay the foundation for future production increases. OPEC+ also expects that after a record decline of about 9 million b/d in 2020 due to the pandemic, demand will increase by 5.95 million b/d in 2021.
The next OPEC+ meeting is scheduled for Oct. 4.