The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allied nations, OPEC+, have announced a pivotal change in plans for their oil production policy meeting initially rescheduled for November 30. The meeting, previously set for November 25-26 and postponed, will now transition to an online format.
The decision to move the meeting online comes as member countries within the OPEC+ alliance engage in deliberations over crucial oil production quotas amidst a significant slump in oil prices.
The OPEC+ secretariat issued a statement on November 22, confirming the rescheduled meeting from the original November 25-26 dates to November 30. While the specific reasons for this postponement were not explicitly outlined in the statement, reports from Bloomberg citing sources indicate internal hurdles within the meeting. Allegedly, Saudi Arabia voiced its discontent over several members’ violations of oil production agreements, triggering a dispute that drove Brent crude prices down by 4.9% to dip below $80 a barrel in London trading on November 22.
This alteration in the meeting plans is not unprecedented for OPEC+. Last year, the coalition of 23 member countries opted for an online meeting a month before the scheduled face-to-face gathering, following discussions on production targets held in Vienna.
Since 2022, OPEC+ has collectively reduced the total oil supply in the market by 5.16 million barrels per day. This reduction includes cuts according to the OPEC+ agreement, amounting to 3.66 million barrels per day, alongside voluntary production and export cuts of 1.5 million barrels per day announced by Saudi Arabia and Russia.
The shift to an online meeting format adds another layer of complexity to ongoing discussions within OPEC+ concerning oil production policies. As the alliance navigates these internal disputes, the global oil market remains on edge, awaiting resolutions that could potentially impact oil supply dynamics and influence market stability.