A gas flame is seen in the desert at Khurais oil field, about 100 miles from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. File photo by Ali Haider/EPA
July 5 (UPI) — Eight OPEC+ nations on Saturday agreed to increase their crude oil production by 548,000 barrels per day starting in August.
Of the dozen Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, five voted to increase the output: Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Iraq, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates. There are 10 subset members with Russia, Kazakhstan and Oman joining the member nations in boosting production.
OPEC nations not voting to increase output are Iran, Venezuela, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Libya, Nigeria.
The increase represents half of a percent of the worldwide production.
In April, the group increased production by 411,000 barrels a day. Also, there were changes in November 2023.
The nations said the change was based on “a steady global economic outlook and current healthy market fundamentals, as reflected in the low oil inventories.” It also was in accordance with a decision on Dec. 5 to start a gradual and flexible return of the 2.2 million barrels per day starting April 1.
They said the “increases may be paused or reversed subject to evolving market conditions. This flexibility will allow the group to continue to support oil market stability.”
The two largest oil producers are Saudi Arabia at 9.8 million barrels per day in August and Russia at 9.3 million. Iraq is third at 4.1 million.
The United States, which is not a member of OPEC, produced an average of 13.4 million barrels of crude oil a day in August 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Global Commodity Insights, a research firm, has said it expected supply would outpace demand by 1.25 million barrels a day in the second half of this year. These changes come amid the summer driving season and more oil for air conditioning amid heat waves in many places around the world.
The eight OPEC+ countries will next meet on Aug. 3 to decide on September production levels.
The Saudis have been seeking to boost production to please U.S. President Donald Trump, who has fostered a strong relationship with Saudi Arabia and UAE, The New York Times reported analysts as saying.
On Friday, August West Texas Intermediate oil futures settled at $68.30 per barrel, a decline of 50 cents. It dropped to $57.13 on May 13, which was the lowest since January 2021. The rose to $80.04 on Jan. 15 with it hitting $120.67 in June 2022.