OPEC+ Approves Modest Oil Output Increase, Then a Three-Month Freeze

OPEC+ has announced plans to increase oil output by 188,000 barrels per day in September, followed by a three-month pause on further quota adjustments. This move marks the final step in unwinding 1.65 million bpd in voluntary cuts agreed upon back in 2023.

After the September bump takes effect, OPEC+ will maintain roughly 2 million bpd in cuts while conducting an internal capacity review. The results of this review will shape new production targets expected to kick in starting January 2027.

The core producers involved in these discussions include Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Kazakhstan, and Oman. However, tensions between the US, Israel, and Iran have already constrained actual production increases, despite higher output targets for June, July, and August of this year.