Opec+ producers look set to complete the unwinding of 2.2mn b/d of voluntary production cuts in September after agreeing to accelerate the process again over the weekend. The Opec+ ‘Group of Eight’ shocked markets in April when it first started accelerating the tapering in the face of economic headwinds, but its gambit appears to be paying off with prices proving resilient despite increased production (MEES, 4 April).
“The market needs to trust us,” says one Opec official, “in Q4 2024 they said that we couldn’t bring 2.2mn b/d back, but now look at the situation.” Absent a surprise decision to slow the return when ministers next meet on 3 August, the final 547,000 b/d will be returned in September (see chart and table), one year ahead of the roadmap agreed in December (MEES, 6 December 2024). Yet if anything, physical markets appear to be tightening, with traders increasingly bullish. (CONTINUED – 823 WORDS)
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