Opec+ weighs small oil output hike for December ahead of key meet

By Grant Smith, Salma El Wardany, Fiona MacDonald and Nayla Razzouk

 

Opec+ members are leaning towards another small production increase for December ahead of an online meeting on Sunday, according to three delegates. 

 

Key members of the group led by Saudi Arabia are discussing a hike of about 137,000 barrels a day — matching those made in October and November — according to the delegates, who asked not to be identified as the talks are private. Bloomberg reported earlier in the week that the modest increase was viewed by delegates as the base-case scenario. 

 

The discussions will continue on Sunday, one of the delegates said. The video call is scheduled for 5 pm Vienna time.  

 

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners are drip-feeding the return of 1.65 million barrels a day, halted two years ago, after rapidly restarting another layer of production earlier this year. They’re going ahead despite signs that a long-awaited surplus is emerging, and warnings of a bigger glut next year. 

 

The International Energy Agency in Paris predicts that world supplies could exceed demand this quarter by more 3 million barrels a day, and then balloon to an unprecedented glut next year, at least on paper. 

 

Still, the organisation’s actual output increases have fallen significantly short of the advertised volumes, as some members atone for earlier overproduction and others struggle to pump more, limiting the impact on the market.