Representatives of the Member States of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia agreed to increase oil production by 500,000 barrels per day starting in January. However, this is a very slight release, as production is still more than 7 million barrels per day lower than before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
OPEC+ group’s original plans talked about increasing production by up to two million barrels of oil per day, but with the arrival of the second wave of coronavirus epidemics in Europe and the US, production will eventually increase substantially less. OPEC+ has thus decided to respond in advance to the expected weakening demand for oil on the world market, as economic activity will fall again as a result of anti-epidemic restrictions in the current quarter.
According to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, representatives of OPEC+ countries will meet monthly to repeatedly evaluate whether or not daily oil production will increase further. “It’s a good decision. It gives us room to react quite flexibly to current events in the global oil market. Our concern is not to disturb the market in any way,“ Novak told Reuters. In response to the outcome of the negotiations, the price of Brent crude oil became slightly more expensive, approaching the $49 per barrel mark.
