OPEC+ set to keep December oil output targets steady amid war disruption

Seven OPEC+ members are expected to hold December output targets steady as Gulf producers continue to face export disruptions from the US-Iran war.

OPEC+ oil-producing countries were set to keep oil production targets steady for December at a meeting on Sunday as the group continues to struggle with export disruptions from the US-Iran war.

 

The seven core OPEC+ members have agreed in principle to keep output unchanged for next month, three people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Saturday, in line with expectations that further policy adjustments will not occur until next year.

 

Sunday's online meeting of the seven countries — Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Kazakhstan and Oman — comes as Gulf members have been boosting exports that have been disrupted for months by the conflict. Most, however, are still pumping well below their targets.

 

 

All of the people declined to be identified. The meeting starts at 1200 GMT, one of them said.

 

OPEC+ comprises the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia.

 

The group has been boosting output targets for much of 2026 and in September completed the phased rollback of a 1.65 million-barrel-per-day supply cut first agreed in 2023. At earlier meetings, it kept the targets steady for October and November.

 

Reuters reported in July that OPEC+ was likely to make no changes to its targets during the fourth quarter as it turns its focus to 2027 quota negotiations.

 

The group still has one more layer of production cuts of about 2 million barrels per day covering most members through the end of 2026.

 

OPEC+ needs to complete a review of members' production capacity during the fourth quarter before setting the 2027 baselines that will determine future quotas and shape plans to unwind those cuts, sources have said.