OPEC+ keeps oil output policy unchanged for October

OPEC+ has decided against changing its oil output policy for October, according to a statement released after a Sunday meeting, as reported by Business Recorder. New quota agreements must come first before the bloc sets its next production steps. The seven core members at the meeting are Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Kazakhstan and Oman.

The meeting took place as the conflict with Iran keeps hampering crude shipments via the Strait of Hormuz. In August the group approved its September increase, which finished the phased unwinding of a 1.65 million barrels-per-day cut first agreed in 2023. Nonetheless, actual output lags well behind the group's goals due to the conflict.

Jorge Leon of Rystad Energy said the group can alter targets on paper but cannot guarantee those barrels reach the market. Attention now turns to reviewing member production capacity, which will set 2027 baselines that underpin quotas. Earlier, sources told Reuters that OPEC+ is likely to pause output increases in the fourth quarter, and the seven members meet again on October 4.