Opec secretary-general Mohammad Barkindo
Brent heads for $82/bl as Opec+ holds steady
The cartel dashes expectations it might boost production ahead of schedule
Opec+ decided on Monday to continue into November with its plans to return 400,000bl/d per month to the market, amid speculation that soaring oil prices could have incentivised it to amend the proposal it made back in April. Brent crude surged back above the $80/bl mark to threaten $82/bl in Monday afternoon trading as the market digested the news that there would be no earlier restoration of production. “The Opec+ decision to continue with existing increments is likely to be supportive for oil prices in the immediate term,” Warren Patterson, head of commodities strategy, and Wenyu Yao, senior commodities strategist, at bank ING had forecast ahead of the decision, while flagging that “a one-
Also in this section
16 January 2026
The country’s global energy importance and domestic political fate are interlocked, highlighting its outsized oil and gas powers, and the heightened fallout risk
16 January 2026
The global maritime oil transport sector enters 2026 facing a rare convergence of crude oversupply, record newbuild deliveries and the potential easing of several geopolitical disruptions that have shaped trade flows since 2022
15 January 2026
Rebuilding industry, energy dominance and lower energy costs are key goals that remain at odds in 2026
14 January 2026
Chavez’s socialist reforms boosted state control but pushed knowledge and capital out of the sector, opening the way for the US shale revolution
