Major oil producers led by Saudi Arabia and Russia are set to meet today as reports said they were mulling an output cut, of up to two million barrels per day in a bid to prop up slumping prices.
The 13 members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), led by Saudi Arabia, and their 10 allies headed by Russia will hold their first in-person meeting since March 2020 at the group’s headquarters in Vienna.
If implemented, it would be the first such major cut since a landmark curb on production at the start of the Covid pandemic.
OPEC+ began to raise production last year after the market improved.
Output returned to pre-pandemic levels this year, but only on paper as some members have struggled to meet their quotas.
The group agreed last month on a small, symbolic cut of 100,000 bpd from October, the first in more than a year.
Most oil ministers were reluctant to divulge information on possible output cuts as they started to arrive in Vienna.