OPEC+ to discuss extending oil cuts or gradually raising output, sources say

OPEC+ members will consider whether to extend existing oil cuts for three to four months or to increase output gradually from January during their two days of talks that start on Monday, OPEC+ sources told Reuters.
Officials from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and others, a group known as OPEC+, held an initial round of talks on Sunday before formal discussions began but failed to reach agreement on policy for 2021.

OPEC+ had been due to ease existing production cuts by 2 million barrels per day (bpd) from January 2021, but a second coronavirus wave has reduced demand for fuel around the world, prompting a rethink among members of the group.

OPEC+ is now considering extending the existing cuts of 7.7 million bpd, about 8% of global demand, into the first months of 2021, a position supported by OPEC’s de-facto leader Saudi Arabia and other major producers in the group, sources said.

Preliminary consultations on Sunday between Saudi, Russian and other key ministers did not agree on strategy.