OPEC + panel recommends sticking to oil production plan, sources say despite soaring prices

LONDON, October 4 (Reuters) – An OPEC + ministerial panel has recommended that the oil-producing group stick to an existing pact to increase oil production by 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) in November, OPEC + sources said Monday, despite consumer calls for more oil and cheaper crude.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries Russia and Their Allies, known as OPEC +, is under pressure from large consumers, such as the United States and India, to add additional supplies to cool the prices which have jumped 50% this year.

Brent topped $ 80 a barrel last month, adding to global inflationary pressures and threatening a recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The OPEC + ministerial panel, known as JMMC, which monitors the assembled market for online discussions ahead of the plenary ministerial meeting.

The group agreed in July to increase production by 400,000 b / d per month until at least April 2022 to phase out 5.8 million b / d of existing production cuts, already very small compared to restrictions. that were in place at the worst of the pandemic.

OPEC + sources said the panel ended its meeting by recommending that the group stick to its existing policy.

“There are calls for increased production of OPEC +,” one of the OPEC + sources told Reuters ahead of the panel meeting. “We are afraid of the fourth corona wave, no one wants to make big moves.”

A senior official for US President Joe Biden met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia on a range of issues last week, saying the oil was “of concern.” India, another big consumer of oil, has pushed to increase supply. Read more

Reporting by Alex Lawler and Ahmad Ghaddar in London and by Vladimir Soldatkin and Olesya Astakhova in Moscow; Editing by Veronica Brown and Edmund Blair

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