OPEC and its partners estimate that they implemented 99% of the agreed oil supply limits in January, according to a delegate who asked that they not be appointed.
The alliance of 23 countries known as OPEC + aimed to retain 7.2 million barrels of crude oil per day in the market last month, about 7% of world supplies. They agreed to increase production by 500,000 barrels from December as part of a plan to alleviate the cuts.
The compliance data is preliminary and will be reviewed on Tuesday by the group’s joint technical committee.
OPEC + agreed to unprecedented supply restrictions last April after the coronavirus pandemic landed planes, shut down economies and caused oil prices to fall. Brent’s benchmark crude has nearly tripled since its reach that month to $ 56 a barrel, although it is still below what most OPEC + countries need to balance their budgets.
No policy change
Implementation in January was 103% among members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and 93% for its non-OPEC partners, a group that includes Russia and Kazakhstan.
The JTC will present its assessment to the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee, which meets Wednesday to discuss the alliance strategy. The JMMC is unlikely to recommend any policy changes, according to delegates who he refused to identify himself.
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After the modest increase in production in January, OPEC + has decided to keep production unchanged in February and March. However, Saudi Arabia, the most influential member of the group, committed to unilateral cut of one million barrels every day during this period.
Iraq, the largest producer of OPEC + after Saudi Arabia and Russia, said it would reduce its daily production to 3.6 million barrels in January and February in compensate for non-compliance with its quota last year. That would mean a reduction of about 250,000 barrels a day starting in December.
OPEC + will hold a full ministerial meeting in early March to decide on its next steps.