Oil pump jacks outside Almetyevsk in Russia. Eight OPEC+ countries are due to hold an online meeting to decide output for October on Sunday.Alexander Manzyuk/Reuters
OPEC+ will consider further raising oil production at a meeting on Sunday, two sources familiar with the discussions said, as the group seeks to regain market share.
Another boost would mean that OPEC+, which pumps about half of the world’s oil, would be starting to unwind a second layer of output cuts of about 1.65 million barrels per day, or 1.6 per cent of world demand, more than a year ahead of schedule.
Eight OPEC+ countries are due to hold an online meeting to decide output for October on Sunday. OPEC+ includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries plus Russia and other allies.
There is also a chance, some analysts and an OPEC+ source said, that OPEC+ could pause the increases for October. A final decision has not been made, the OPEC+ source said.
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OPEC headquarters and authorities in Saudi Arabia did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Oil prices remain elevated even as OPEC+ has raised output. Actual increases from the group have fallen short of pledges as some members compensated for previous overproduction and others struggled to raise output due to capacity constraints.
Brent crude was trading near US$68 a barrel on Wednesday, down over 1 per cent on the day but up from a 2025 low of near US$58 in April.
OPEC+ had been curtailing production for several years to support oil prices. It reversed course this year to grow market share, spurred in part by calls from U.S. President Donald Trump for OPEC to ramp up production to keep a lid on gasoline prices.
At their last meeting in August, the eight raised production by 547,000 barrels per day for September, an early reversal of its largest tranche of output cuts plus a separate output hike for the United Arab Emirates amounting to about 2.5 million barrels per day.
The next output cut layer of 1.65 million barrels per day is in place until the end of 2026, as is another two million barrels per day of cuts by the whole group.