OPEC+ considers making the biggest oil production cut since the pandemic, says agency

OPEC+ will consider an oil production cut of more than one million barrels per day (bpd) when it meets on October 5, OPEC sources told Reuters on Sunday, in what would be the biggest move since the Covid-19 pandemic. 19 to deal with oil market weakness.

The meeting will take place on October 5, against the backdrop of falling oil prices and months of severe market volatility that led Saudi Arabia, the main OPEC+ producer, to say that the group could cut production.

OPEC+, which brings together OPEC countries and allies such as Russia, has been refusing to increase production to lower oil prices despite pressure from major consumers, including the United States, to help the global economy.

However, prices have fallen sharply in the last month on fears about the global economy and a rally in the US dollar after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates.

A significant production cut is likely to anger the United States, which is pushing Saudi Arabia to keep pumping more to help lower oil prices and lower Russian revenues, as the West seeks to punish Moscow for sending troops to Ukraine.

Last week, a source familiar with Russian thinking said Moscow would like to see OPEC+ cut 1 million bpd or 1% of global supply.

That would be the biggest cut since 2020, when OPEC+ cut output by a record 10 million bpd due to falling demand due to the Covid pandemic. The group spent the next two years undoing those cuts.

On Sunday, sources said the cut could exceed 1 million bpd. One of the sources suggested that the cuts could also include a further voluntary reduction of production by Saudi Arabia.

OPEC+ will meet in person in Vienna for the first time since March 2020.