Seven OPEC+ members have agreed to raise their combined oil production by 188,000 barrels per day (bpd) in August, marking another step in the gradual rollback of voluntary output cuts while reaffirming their commitment to market stability.
The decision was made during a virtual meeting on Saturday involving Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman. The countries have been implementing additional voluntary production cuts since 2023 as part of broader efforts to support the global oil market.
The planned increase is the latest phase in reversing the voluntary reductions first announced in April 2023. OPEC+ said future production adjustments will remain dependent on market conditions and could be accelerated, paused or reversed if required to maintain balance.
Under the August 2026 production schedule, according to ANI, Saudi Arabia and Russia will each increase oil output by 62,000 barrels per day (bpd), the largest increases among the participating OPEC+ members. Iraq will raise production by 26,000 bpd, followed by Kuwait with 16,000 bpd, Kazakhstan with 10,000 bpd, Algeria with 6,000 bpd and Oman with 5,000 bpd.
Following the increase, Saudi Arabia's required production level will reach 10.416 million bpd, while Russia's will rise to 9.887 million bpd. Iraq's production target will stand at 4.405 million bpd, Kuwait's at 2.660 million bpd, Kazakhstan's at 1.618 million bpd, Algeria's at 1.001 million bpd and Oman's at 836,000 bpd.
The seven producers stressed that the production increases remain conditional and may be adjusted in response to changing market conditions. They reiterated the importance of maintaining flexibility in production policy, including the ability to accelerate, pause or reverse the phase-out of voluntary output cuts if necessary to support market stability.
The group also said the latest production adjustment would help participating countries accelerate compensation for previous overproduction. It reaffirmed its commitment to full compliance with the OPEC+ Declaration of Cooperation and all additional voluntary production adjustments monitored by the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC).
The producers further pledged to fully compensate for any output that exceeded agreed levels since January 2024 and confirmed they will continue holding monthly meetings to review market conditions, production compliance and compensation efforts. Their next meeting is scheduled for Aug. 2, 2026.
At the time of writing, Brent crude was trading at USD 71.73 per barrel, down 0.51%, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was at USD 68.44 per barrel, down 0.47%.
(With inputs from ANI)