OPEC+ Sticks To Modest Oil Output Boost Despite Price Hike

Anupama Dash March 31, 2022

1 minute read

Vienna, March 31: The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, announced on Thursday that it would stick to existing plans for modest oil production increases in May despite surging crude prices.

The oil alliance reconfirmed “the decision to adjust upward the monthly overall production by 432,000 barrels per day for the month of May 2022,” according to a statement released after the 27th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting. So far, OPEC+ has added 400,000 barrels per day at the start of each month, according to its schedule of gradual output increases agreed in July 2021 to offset production cuts made at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

The OPEC+ statement said the slight output boost in May is due to adjusted baseline production levels, which were also agreed upon by its members last July.