OPEC+ plays with a straight bat
The oil alliance’s decision to keep to the plan amid tightening economic fundamentals seems to have been lost in the global geopolitical maelstrom, misplaced market speculation and haze of conjecture
Whenever OPEC+ goes against the prevailing consensus, the reactions are usually either that the oil alliance has got it wrong or that a message is being sent, or else a conspiracy theory is cooked up. All three themes, along with inevitable price action that goes along with signalling more barrels will re-enter the market, have reverberated across an oil world that has totally missed the point: OPEC+ knows best. The eight OPEC+ producers that agreed to additional voluntary output cuts in April and November 2023 said they would proceed with their previously agreed plan to gradually roll back the November 2023 target reductions. The total of 2.2m b/d equates to a month-on-month rise in April o

Also in this section
11 July 2025
Equinor and its partners at Norway’s largest oilfield have pulled the trigger on a fresh $1.3b investment that will maintain high output for longer
11 July 2025
Reassessment of the country’s export-facing gas policy coincides with worsening domestic market backdrop
10 July 2025
Without sanctions relief, there is little reason to believe the latest potential attempt at exports from the Russian liquefaction project will be more successful than the one last summer
9 July 2025
Efforts to restructure and boost investment appear to be working, but doubts remain about the plan to almost double crude production by 2030