OPEC+ Holds December Output at September Levels
Seven OPEC+ producers kept December 2026 output at September levels on Nov. 1. Policy for 2027 is due at a Nov. 29 ministerial meeting.
VIENNA — Seven OPEC+ producers agreed on Nov. 1, 2026, to keep December production at the levels required for September, OPEC said in a statement.
The seven are Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman, the statement said. They are the countries that announced extra voluntary cuts in April and November 2023, according to OPEC.
What was decided
The group met by video and “reiterated their collective commitment to achieve full conformity with the Declaration of Cooperation,” the statement said. It said the seven will keep meeting monthly, with the next meeting on Nov. 29.
The decision extends a pause. On Oct. 4, the same group kept November targets unchanged, Bloomberg reported via World Oil. Bloomberg said OPEC+ had already signaled it would pause quota increases through the end of the year.
Quotas versus actual output
The quotas matter less than usual because of the Iran war, according to Bloomberg. It reported that production in Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait remained significantly below pre-war levels.
Bloomberg described the six months of modest increases through August as “largely symbolic.” It said those increases could give Gulf members more room to raise output once the conflict eases.
Another OPEC+ body, the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee, has voiced “concern regarding attacks on energy infrastructure,” Bloomberg reported in October.
What comes on Nov. 29
Policy for 2027 will be set at a full ministerial meeting on Nov. 29, Bloomberg reported. The monitoring committee is scheduled to meet the same day.
Bloomberg said the next major decision is whether to restore another layer of output halted in 2022. It said that choice will likely depend on an audit of members’ production capacity that is under way.
What it means
Analysis: With Gulf output already below quota, the decision signals intent more than it moves barrels. The leverage sits with whoever controls physical exports through the Gulf, not with the quota table. The Nov. 29 meeting will show how the group plans to divide restored capacity once shipping normalizes.
Sources
- OPEC: Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman reaffirm commitment to market stability (Nov. 1, 2026)
- World Oil (Bloomberg): OPEC+ holds November oil production targets steady as supply remains constrained
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Featured photo: The headquarters of OPEC in Vienna (file photo). Photo: C.Stadler/Bwag, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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