Saudi Arabia is pushing OPEC+ to fast-track the group’s next oil production increase, moving up a supply hike originally scheduled for late 2026. OPEC+ has injected a lot of downside pricing risk into the oil markets this week, fuelling speculation that the second wave of voluntary cuts totalling 1.65 million b/d could be unwound much […]
OPEC+ leader Saudi Arabia wants the group to consider reviving more oil production ahead of its scheduled return at the end of next year amid a push to reclaim market share, people familiar with the matter said.
Angola’s oil production fell below the million-barrels-a-day level for the first time since it quit OPEC two years ago.
Crude output declined to 998,757 bpd in July, the lowest level since March 2023, when average monthly production last dropped to six figures, according to Angola’s National Agency for Petroleum and Gas data.
Global oil demand is set to grow by 1.38 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2026, OPEC said on Tuesday as it raised its forecast for next year by 100,000 bpd on the back of expected stronger economies in key oil-consuming regions.
The total U.S. rig count dropped by two week on week and now stands at 540, according to Baker Hughes’ latest North America rotary rig count, which was released on August 1. Of the total U.S. rig count of 540, 525 rigs are categorized as land rigs, 13 are categorized as offshore rigs, and two are categorized as inland water rigs, the count revealed. The total U.S. rig count is made up of 410 oil rigs, 124 gas rigs, and six miscellaneous rigs, according to Baker Hughes’ count, which highlighted that the U.S. total comprises 471 horizontal rigs, 54 directional rigs, and 15 vertical rigs.
According to a table accompanying the statement, September “required production” is 9.978 million barrels per day for Saudi Arabia, 9.449 million barrels per day for Russia, 4.220 million barrels per day for Iraq, 3.375 million barrels per day for the United Arab Emirates, 2.548 million barrels per day for Kuwait, 1.550 million barrels per day for Kazakhstan, 959,000 barrels per day for Algeria, and 801,000 barrels per day for Oman.
Analysts note that much of the actual production growth since April has come from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, with other OPEC+ members struggling to meet their targets. RBC Capital Markets’ Helima Croft said the strategy has favored producers with spare capacity, as prices have held steady compared to early-year lows despite rising supply.
OPEC+ stuck to the script at Monday’s Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) meeting, offering no changes to current output policy and little surprise for market watchers. The virtual meeting—its 61st—reviewed production data from May and June and confirmed what most already suspected: while the group remains on track with its broad plans, not every member is keeping pace.
OPEC+ looks set to stay the course at Monday’s Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee meeting, with four anonymous delegates telling Reuters the group is unlikely to tinker with its output policy. A fifth source said it was too early to say. The plan on the table remains: raise production by 548,000 barrels per day in August—part of a previously announced unwinding of 2.2 million bpd in voluntary cuts by eight members. They are then expected to agree to a further 548,000 bpd in September.
Lower demand for crude oil from refiners at home gave a boost to U.S. exports of the commodity, turning it into a net exporter to OPEC member Nigeria in two of the seven months since the start of this year.