Core members of OPEC+ have agreed in principle to keep their oil production targets unchanged for December, maintaining a steady output policy as focus shifts toward upcoming negotiations.
Seven key participating countries—including Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Kazakhstan, and Oman—reached the understanding ahead of an online ministerial meeting.
The group is holding off on major policy shifts as it prepares for a crucial full-group meeting scheduled for November 29 to determine production baselines and quotas for 2027.
The decision allows the group to pause policy adjustments while they complete a vital fourth-quarter review of members’ actual production capacities.
This assessment will establish the updated baselines for 2027 quotas and help shape future plans for unwinding remaining supply cuts.
Although several Gulf producers have looked to increase exports following regional conflict disruptions, the majority of participating nations continue to pump well below their assigned monthly targets.
The steady targets give the organization time to complete a vital fourth-quarter review of members’ actual production capacities, which has faced uncertainty due to regional conflict disruptions.
“Today’s decision was the easy one,” said Jorge Leon, an analyst at Rystad. “The much more important test comes at the November 29 ministerial meeting, when OPEC+ will decide its 2027 production framework.”
Oil prices jumped more than 2% on Friday, October 30 with Brent crude settling at almost $118 a barrel, the highest since April, as traders braced for a potential escalation in the Iran war after the US midterm elections.
