OPEC+ to increase oil production by 400,000 bpd in February
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) together with Russia and other allies decided today to increase their joint crude oil production by 400,000 barrels per day in February, as planned, despite the uncertainty of the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
"It has been decided to maintain the current strategy," a source quoted by RIA Novosti said after a meeting of the group and shortly before OPEC confirmed that this was the outcome of a video conference held today by industry ministers from the 23 member countries of the so-called OPEC+ (OPEC and allies).
"In view of the current fundamentals of the oil market and the consensus on its outlook," the ministers certified "the decision to adjust monthly global production upwards by 0.4 million barrels per day (bpd) in the month of February 2022," the final statement of the virtual meeting said.
With this, the OPEC+ alliance, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, continues with the roadmap adopted last July to gradually recover the level of pumping it had before drastically cutting it in May 2020 to compensate for the historic fall in demand caused by the coronavirus crisis.
It was thus agreed to increase monthly 400,000 bd between last August and next September, and so far the oil group has stuck to this plan, so that as of 1 February the maximum ceiling of its extractions will stand at 40.894 million bpd.
Of this volume, 24,808 bpd corresponds to OPEC (not including pumping by Venezuela, Iran and Libya) and 16,086 bpd to the ten allied independent producers as a whole.
The quotas of OPEC member Saudi Arabia and non-member Russia, by far the largest producers and exporters in the group, each rise to 10.227 mbd next month.
OPEC+ will hold a telematic meeting again on 2 February.
The outcome of this OPEC+ meeting was as expected in the world oil markets, where the "black gold", after appreciating by nearly 75 % in 2021, maintained an upward trend, with the Brent barrel, the benchmark for Europe, touching 80 dollars.
