OPEC+ Likely to Stick With Supply Pause in March, Delegates Say
(Bloomberg) -- OPEC+ delegates said they’re currently expecting to stick with plans to keep oil production steady next month when they meet on Sunday, as the group deals with a global surplus and a wave of geopolitical risks.
Key members led by Saudi Arabia and Russia will hold a monthly video conference to review a decision — first made in November — to freeze output levels during the first quarter after rapidly reviving production last year.
Four delegates who asked not to be identified said their expectation is that the policy will remain unchanged, although two added that discussions among members have yet to take place.
There’s no sign so far of any need to respond to this month’s tumultuous events in members Venezuela and Iran, one said. Nonetheless, a significant supply disruption could prompt the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners to bolster output, said another.
Oil has edged higher so far this year, boosted by widespread unrest in Iran and supply curbs in Kazakhstan and Russia, with Brent futures trading at about $66 a barrel on Monday. Prices, though, are only a dollar above where they were stood the start of November when OPEC+ announced its first-quarter output pause, which they said reflected a seasonal slowdown.
Iran has been rocked by demonstrations and a brutal crackdown on protesters, though there’s been no impact so far on the country’s oil sector. Meanwhile Venezuelan crude is heading to Europe for the first time in almost a year, as President Donald Trump seeks to rehabilitate the Latin American nation’s economy following his capture of former leader Nicolas Maduro.
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