US President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman in Riyadh
OPEC++, the sequel, has arrived
It is time to acknowledge that the US-Saudi Arabia nexus is driving a fundamental shift in OPEC strategy
There are many layers to the current oil alliance. This complexity may be unwieldly, but the greater flexibility and market share is ultimately a strength, with producers in different subsets of OPEC, OPEC+ and the ‘voluntary’ group of eight. On top of this there is the ultimate partnership driving the current strategy: Saudi Arabia and the US. After several years of deeper and deeper production cuts, the oil pact has pivoted. The eight OPEC+ producers—Algeria, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Oman, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the UAE—began unwinding some of their additional output cuts earlier this year, returning some of the 2.2m b/d layer of supply to the market. This inner circle started to increa
Also in this section
25 July 2025
Mozambique’s insurgency continues, but the security situation near the LNG site has significantly improved, with TotalEnergies aiming to lift its force majeure within months
25 July 2025
There is a bifurcation in the global oil market as China’s stockpiling contrasts with reduced inventories elsewhere
24 July 2025
The reaction to proposed sanctions on Russian oil buyers has been muted, suggesting trader fatigue with Trump’s frequent bold and erratic threats
24 July 2025
Trump energy policies and changing consumer trends to upend oil supply and demand
