The global oil price has fallen to its lowest level since May 2023. OPEC+ is considering postponing the planned production increase.
“OPEC+ is discussing a possible delay to a planned oil production increase in October after prices collapsed to their lowest levels since last year,” — Bloomberg reports, citing sources among the delegates.
The group, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, is reconsidering whether to go ahead with a planned output increase of 180,000 barrels per day, the people said.
One cause for concern for OPEC+ was the drop in oil prices. On the evening of September 4, North Sea Brent prices fell below $74 per barrel. The last time such prices were seen was in May 2023.
Over the past year and a half, OPEC+ has carried out several voluntary production cuts. There is a limit of 2.2 million barrels per day until October. They want to reduce it, but do so gradually.
OPEC+ restrictions have been effective, but their role is reducing production growth in the United States, Guyana, Brazil and other non-member countries. Moreover, the main reason for the current decline in prices is the risk of a slowdown in the world’s largest economies – the United States and China, on which the level of oil consumption depends.