WNAM REPORT: The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, a grouping known as OPEC+, has decided to go ahead with plans to increase its production in April after three years of imposing cuts.
The Reuters news agency said in a Monday report that OPEC+ will begin to unwind its cuts by an average increase of 138,000 barrels per day (bpd) in April.
The report quoted three unidentified sources as saying that the increase will go ahead as planned based on agreements between OPEC+ members, which include major producer Russia.
OPEC+ has been cutting output by 5.85 million bpd, equal to about 5.7% of global supply, as part of agreements reached since 2022 to support international oil prices.
The grouping decided in December to extend the latest layer of its cuts, which covered 2.2 million bpd of output, through the first quarter of 2025.
The decision to increase the output comes against the backdrop of reports suggesting that demand for oil could increase in the coming months amid speculations that rising US pressure on Iran may tighten global supplies.
Iran has indicated that US sanctions would not affect its production and exports.
The country’s state oil company NIOC said on Monday that its light crude oil will be available for Asian customers in March at nearly $4.5 above the benchmark Oman/Dubai crude price.
The company said, however, that prices of its Heavy and Forouzan oil grades will be slightly lower than benchmark prices in the same month.
