Letter from London: OPEC’s new chapter

Scepticism, confusion and disdain over OPEC+’s extended and deeper supply cuts should give way to an appreciation of the new multi-speed producer alliance

It is easy to see the dysfunctional disconnect between OPEC+ members as a weakness as they once again haggled over quotas and output baselines, fudged reductions and put fresh spin on questionable cuts. But with an alliance made up of competitive producers held together by mutual self-interest, discord will often be part of the discourse. OPEC+ delivered, and oil watchers have their eyes wide shut on the alliance’s ability to balance the market. When the oil-producing pact announced in early December that it will deliver an extra 2.2m b/d in voluntary cuts during the first quarter of next year at least, industry participants looked on with a mixture of cynicism and uncertainty. But these rea