OPEC Plus is moving to extend oil production cuts until the end of the first quarter of 2025

Four sources in the OPEC Plus alliance said that the alliance will likely extend, at its meeting tomorrow, the latest round of oil production cuts until the end of the first quarter of 2025, in order to provide additional support to the oil market.

The OPEC Plus alliance, which pumps half of the world’s oil production, aims to gradually end production cuts during 2025.

One of the sources told Reuters: “This reduction will most likely be extended into the first quarter.” The four sources requested that their names not be mentioned, and another source ruled out extending the reduction for six months.

The OPEC Plus alliance, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies led by Russia, will meet tomorrow to decide on a production strategy.

Despite the supply cuts made by the group, “Brent crude” remained in the range of 70 to 80 dollars per barrel this year, and the day before yesterday, it was trading at about 72 dollars per barrel, after recording its lowest level in 2024 at less than 69. dollars in September.

The volume of cuts by OPEC Plus members amounts to 5.86 million barrels per day, or about 5.7% of global demand in a series of steps agreed upon since 2022 to support the market.

The production increase of 180,000 barrels per day, a small part of the total, was scheduled to come in January from the eight members participating in the latest OPEC Plus cuts amounting to 2.2 million barrels per day, and the increase was postponed from October due to lower prices.

Sources said that the high-level talks within OPEC Plus, ahead of the meeting that was scheduled for December 1 before being postponed, focused on the duration of the postponement of the increase in production.

Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, the Saudi Minister of Energy, held a meeting by telephone last week with the Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Alexander Novak, and the Minister of Energy of Kazakhstan, Almasadam Satkaliyev, during the official visit of the Saudi minister to Kazakhstan, and talks also took place in Baghdad between Iraq. And Saudi Arabia and Russia yesterday.