OPEC’s heavyweights Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Kuwait, as well as Oman (not an OPEC producer but an OPEC+ member) exported on average 5.51 million barrels per day (bpd) of refined petroleum products in 2024, up by more than 7% on the year, per the data.
OPEC+ crude production surged last month as Kazakhstan, which has long flouted the cartel’s output quotas, further breached its agreed limit.
OPEC wasn’t keen on responding to President Trump’s pressures at the time, nor does it appear to be factoring into their decision now. But Trump’s recent decisions—global tariffs, sanctions on Iran, Russia, and Venezuela, and the US President’s favorable view of the oil industry as opposed to renewables are all making OPEC+’s decisions particularly complex as it attempts to properly manage supply in line with demand.
Iraq remains fully committed to its pledges in the OPEC+ agreement as the restart of oil exports from the semi-autonomous Iraqi region of Kurdistan appears imminent.
In a statement posted on its website recently, OPEC said it “welcomes the decision approved … by the National Energy Council of the Federative Republic of Brazil (CNPE) that formally paves the way for the participation of Brazil as a Member of the Charter of Cooperation (CoC) between oil producing countries”.
It would be the fourth time the Saudi Arabia-led producer group has delayed plans to revive output. That’s eased worries about a supply surplus developing this year. The International Energy Agency is calling for an overhang of 450,000 barrels a day and, in the US, inventories are sitting at a three-month high while one measure of market tightness is flashing signs of oversupply.
OPEC+ has not discussed delaying the increase in its oil supply currently planned to begin in April, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Monday.
Iran called on all members of the OPEC oil cartel last week to take united action against the U.S.’s ramping up of sanctions on the Islamic Republic. The statement from its President Masoud Pezeshkian followed Donald Trump’s instruction to his key cabinet colleagues to increase sanctions on Iran to reduce its oil exports to zero.
Output fell to 8.962 million barrels a day last month, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information isn’t public. That’s 16,000 barrels a day below Russia’s target under the OPEC+ supply agreement.
Tough US sanctions on Russian oil are allowing the biggest Middle Eastern producers to raise prices for their main market by the most in years, and may help bring in additional petrodollars to meet crucial funding needs.