Sources: 8 OPEC+ members to meet on Thursday, production increase plan expected to begin

Reuters quoted three OPEC+ sources, who said that a meeting on Thursday will bring together eight OPEC+ members, who are scheduled to gradually increase their crude oil production starting in April.

The sources told the agency that the group is not expected to change the agreed-upon plan to gradually increase oil production starting this month.

The eight countries held an online meeting in early March and agreed to proceed with the April increase, the group’s first since 2022. The increase, if implemented, would amount to 138,000 barrels per day, according to Reuters calculations.

These countries include Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and the Sultanate of Oman. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said in March that OPEC+ had agreed to begin increasing oil production in April, but that it could reverse the decision later if market imbalances occurred.

OPEC+ intends to implement this plan, which entails a gradual and flexible return to voluntary cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) approved in recent years, starting April 1, 2025, with the possibility of adjustments based on market conditions.

The group, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Russia, and other allies, is implementing a production cut of 5.85 million bpd, representing about 5.7% of global supply, agreed upon in a series of steps since 2022 to support the market.

In December, the OPEC+ alliance extended the latest tranche of cuts until the end of the first quarter of 2025, postponing the planned increase in production to April.