OPEC+ postpones output meeting to 5 December

The OPEC+ alliance has postponed its highly anticipated output policy meeting to 5 December, to prevent overlapping with another event.

PHOTO: OPEC's logo. Getty Images

The group was originally scheduled to meet on 1 December to discuss supply production levels and output policies of its member countries – a meeting that would decide the fate of oil prices at least in the short term, analysts said.

“[Oil] market spotlight has shifted to the impending OPEC/non-OPEC decision on plans to unwind 2.2 million b/d of voluntary output cuts,” VANDA Insights’ founder and analyst Vandana Hari said.

The meeting has been postponed as several OPEC+ ministers will be attending the 45th Gulf Summit in Kuwait, the Vienna-headquartered group said in a statement.

Oil market analysts expect the Saudi Arabia-led consortium to keep output policies unchanged at the meeting, deferring from earlier plans to gradually start unwinding the 2.2 million b/d cut from January 2025.

Earlier on Wednesday, Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, the de-facto head of the group spoke with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak and Kazakhstan’s Energy Minister Almasadam Satkaliyev to discuss OPEC’s future plans, Reuters reported. Meanwhile, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Russia held talks in Baghdad on Tuesday.

OPEC+ started production cuts in 2023 to bolster oil prices. While it initially aimed to gradually ease output cuts starting in October, challenges such as slowing demand in China, coupled with rising output from non-OPEC producers disrupted those plans.

By Aparupa Mazumder

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