OPEC+ is headed for no policy change in Sunday talks

©Health & Fitness Journal. FILE PHOTO: An OPEC sign is seen on the day of the OPEC+ Vienna meeting in Vienna, Austria, October 5, 2022. REUTERS/Lisa Leutner

By Alex Lawler and Ahmad Ghaddar

LONDON/DUBAI (Health & Fitness Journal) – OPEC+ is poised to stick to its oil production targets at its meeting on Sunday, four OPEC+ sources said as the alliance gathered after the Group of Seven (G7) nations agreed a price cap on Russian oil had.

OPEC+, made up of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia, angered the United States and other western nations in October when they agreed to cut production by 2 million barrels per day (bpd), about 2% of world demand, from November to the end of 2023.

Washington accused the group and one of its leaders, Saudi Arabia, of siding with Russia despite Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

OPEC+ argued it had curbed production due to a weaker economic outlook. Oil prices have fallen since October on slower Chinese and global growth and higher interest rates. [O/R]

On Friday, the G7 and Australia agreed on a $60-per-barrel price cap for Russian seagoing vessels in a bid to deprive President Vladimir Putin of revenue while keeping Russian oil flowing to world markets.

Moscow said it would not sell its oil below the cap and was considering how to respond.

Many analysts and OPEC ministers have said the price cap is confusing and likely inefficient given Moscow has sold most of its oil to countries like China and India, which have refused to condemn the war in Ukraine.

OPEC met virtually without Russia and allies on Saturday and did not discuss Russia’s price cap, sources said.

“We will leave the production as it is,” one of the sources said on Sunday. OPEC+ will start talks at 11:00 GMT with a meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) advisory body, followed by the full ministerial conference.