OPEC+ Countries Plan To Increase Oil Production Again

• 13.02.2026, 17:26

This is due to tensions around Iran.

The eight OPEC+ countries are likely to go back to increasing oil production from April, reports Reuters, citing three sources in the oil cartel.

The agency's interlocutors said the decision will be discussed ahead of a meeting of the 8 OPEC+ members (Saudi Arabia, Russia, UAE, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Iraq, Algeria and Oman) on March 1 and is linked to tensions around Iran and fairly high oil prices.

The renewed production increase will allow OPEC leader Saudi Arabia and another OPEC member, the UAE, to regain market share at a time when other members of the OPEC+ alliance such as Russia, Venezuela and Iran are finding it difficult to increase production due to Western sanctions and a series of setbacks are holding back production in Kazakhstan.

The OPEC+ eight increased oil production quotas by about 2.9 million bpd from April to December 2025, about 3 percent of global consumption. They suspended further planned monthly increases from January through March 2026 due to seasonally lower demand.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said last week that there was a balance in the market and that the OPEC+ alliance expected demand to rise starting in March. This will be an additional factor to ensure balance, he added.

On Feb. 1, the eight members of OPEC+, a group that produces about half of the world's oil, agreed to maintain a pause in oil production increases in March, taking into account seasonal factors.