At the 53rd meeting held online on April 3, the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its partners, known as OPEC+, decided to keep its crude oil production policy unchanged, even as crude oil prices reached their highest levels in five months.

During the meeting, OPEC+ reviewed crude oil production data for January and February 2024, market conditions, and the implementation of production cuts by its members.

A combination of tighter supply, attacks on Russia's energy infrastructure, and geopolitical developments in the Middle East have pushed crude oil prices higher recently. On April 3, Brent crude oil prices surged to over $89 per barrel, the highest since late October 2023.

Last month, OPEC+ members, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, agreed to extend voluntary production cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day until the end of June this year to support the market.

On March 29, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak announced that Russia would focus on reducing oil production rather than exports in Q2 2024 to fairly share production cuts with other OPEC+ members.

In a statement following the April 3 meeting, OPEC+ commended Russia’s decision on its production policy. The statement also highlighted that "countries participating in voluntary cuts with surplus production in Q1 2024 must submit detailed compensation plans to the OPEC Secretariat by April 30."

Last month, Iraq pledged to reduce exports to compensate for exceeding its OPEC production target. Iraq committed to cutting exports by 130,000 barrels per day starting February 2024.

The JMMC will continue to monitor compliance with production adjustments decided in the June 4, 2023 meeting and additional voluntary production adjustments announced by some OPEC and non-OPEC countries in April 2023, as well as subsequent adjustments made in November 2023 and February 2024.

Previously, at the February 1 meeting, OPEC+ agreed to maintain its crude oil production policy. The next JMMC meeting is scheduled for June 1.

Source: Vietstock