06/04/26
Opec+ 8 to agree new May output increase: Update 2
Updates with more details, context Dubai, 6 April (Argus) — The eight core Opec+
members today agreed to raise their collective production target by 206,000 b/d
in May, despite the conflict in the Mideast Gulf disrupting the group's
supplies. The increase will match levels the eight countries — Saudi Arabia, the
UAE, Kuwait, Iraq, Algeria, Russia, Kazakhstan and Oman — agreed to for April at
its last meeting on 1 March, and comes as part of a process the group began in
April 2025 to unwind 1.65mn b/d of production cuts. That 1 March meeting came
one day after the US and Israel launched air strikes on Iran, triggering a war
that has now entered its sixth week. Tehran has been responding to US and
Israeli strikes on military, industrial and civilian infrastructure by launching
missiles and drones against targets in Israel and across the Mideast Gulf.
Energy facilities and installations in Kuwait, Bahrain, the UAE and Iraq have
been targeted by Iranian drones in just the past 24 hours . Iran has also
threatened commercial vessels traveling through the strait of Hormuz, severely
disrupting what is typically around 15mn b/d of crude flows. Some traffic is now
being allowed through by Iran, but the slowdown in flows has forced key Mideast
Gulf producers, including Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, to
significantly curtail production. Argus estimates crude production from these
four countries has fallen by a combined 9.15mn b/d versus February levels. Until
the disruption through the strait is addressed, the group of eight will struggle
to translate decisions to raise production targets into actual production
increases. Reflecting on the conflict in the Mideast Gulf, the group of eight
"expressed concern regarding attacks on energy infrastructure, noting that
restoring damaged energy assets to full capacity is both costly and takes a long
time, thereby affecting overall supply availability," according to a joint
statement. They stressed that any actions undermining energy supply security, be
they attacks on infrastructure or disruption of international maritime routes,
increase market volatility. The group of eight will next meet on 3 May. By Nader
Itayim and Bachar Halabi Send comments and request more information at
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