Major oil producers agree on modest production boost from August

The world’s leading oil producers agreed on Sunday to continue to modestly boost output from August reaching a compromise after the UAE blocked a deal earlier this month.

An OPEC+ meeting decided to raise output by 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) each month from August to help fuel a global economic recovery as the pandemic eases, the group’s Vienna-based secretariat said in a media statement, cited by AFP.

According to AFP, the grouping will “assess market developments” in December, it said.

The deal also extends a deadline on capping output from April next year to the end of 2022.

Earlier in July, negotiations of OPEC+ members on easing production cuts became deadlocked due to Saudi Arabia and the UAE .

Since May, the 23-member grouping, which also includes Russia, had raised oil output bit by bit, after slashing it more than a year ago when the coronavirus pandemic crushed demand.

The aim is to return to pre-pandemic production levels, with the alliance still pumping 5.8 million bpd less than it was before the pandemic, AFP reported.

The UAE rejected the proposed deal earlier this month as “unjust,” leading to a stalemate.

But in a compromise, Sunday’s discussions agreed to adjust output quotas next May for the UAE, Iraq, Kuwait, Russia and Saudi Arabia itself, meaning their actual cuts will be less.