Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — The eight OPEC+ countries have agreed on Sunday an output hike by 137,000 barrels per day (bpd) in December and a pause in increases in the first quarter of 2026. OPEC+ has raised output targets by around 2.9 million bpd or around 2.7 percent of global supply - since April, but slowed the pace from October amid predictions of a looming oversupply.

The eight OPEC+ countries are Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman. These countries held a virtual meeting on Sunday to review global market conditions and outlook. “In view of a steady global economic outlook and current healthy market fundamentals, as reflected in the low oil inventories, the eight participating countries decided to implement a production adjustment of 137,000 bpd from the 1.65 million bpd additional voluntary adjustments announced in April 2023. This adjustment will be implemented in December 2025,” the OPEC+ countries said in a statement after their meeting.

The output hike in December is the same as for October and November. “Beyond December, due to seasonality, the eight countries also decided to pause the production increments in January, February, and March 2026,” the group said.

The OPEC+ countries reiterated that the 1.65 million bpd may be returned in part or in full subject to evolving market conditions and in a gradual manner. The countries will continue to closely monitor and assess market conditions. In their continuous efforts to support market stability, they reaffirmed the importance of adopting a cautious approach and retaining full flexibility to continue pausing or reverse the additional voluntary production adjustments, including the previously implemented voluntary adjustments of the 2.2 million barrels per day announced in November 2023.

The OPEC+ countries also noted that this measure will provide an opportunity for the participating countries to accelerate their compensation. They reiterated their collective commitment to achieve full conformity with the Declaration of Cooperation, including the additional voluntary production adjustments that will be monitored by the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC). They also confirmed their intention to fully compensate for any overproduced volume since January 2024.