OPEC+ to further speed up oil output hikes: Sources

OPEC+ plans to further accelerate oil output hikes and could unwind its 2.2 million barrels per day of voluntary cuts by the end of October if members do not improve compliance with their production quotas, five sources from the group said.

The group, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies such as Russia, agreed another big output hike for June on Saturday, taking the total it plans to release in April, May and June to nearly 1 million bpd.

OPEC+ will maintain the trend and will likely agree in June to release another 411,000 bpd in July, the five OPEC+ sources briefed on the matter said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

If compliance does not improve, the voluntary cuts will be unwound by November, one of the sources said, referring to the 2.2 million bpd portion of OPEC+’s voluntary cuts by eight members.

OPEC+ is still cutting output by almost 5 million bpd and many of the cuts are due to remain in place until the end of 2026. These cuts were agreed in various stages since 2022 to support the market.

In December, OPEC+ agreed to gradually phase out the 2.2 million bpd voluntary part of total cuts by the end of September of 2026 but agreed to accelerate this process in April.

Oil prices fell to a four-year low in April below $60 per barrel on accelerated OPEC+ hikes and as US President Donald Trump’s tariffs raised concerns about a global slowdown.