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OPEC+ adds 188,000 bpd from September
August 2, 2026
OPEC+ approved a roughly 188,000 barrels per day quota increase for September, completing the unwinding of a 1.65 million bpd voluntary cut agreed in 2023.
CNBC reports that OPEC+ approved a quota increase of about 188,000 barrels per day from September, finishing the phased rollback of a 1.65 million bpd voluntary cut first agreed in 2023, when the group still counted the United Arab Emirates among its members. The UAE left OPEC in May. The seven core producers behind the decision are Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Kazakhstan and Oman, and CNBC reports they meet again on Sept. 6. Bloomberg describes the move as a small quota rise that closes out the 2023 cuts, the Wall Street Journal counts it as the sixth consecutive monthly increase, and Reuters carries the same decision. The accounts agree on substance and differ only in which number each leads with.
The increase matters less than it looks. CNBC reports that export disruptions from the Gulf, Russia and Kazakhstan tied to the Iran and Ukraine wars have left most of this year's monthly hikes largely on paper, with little effect on the market. Prices moved up on the day even so: CNBC reports West Texas Intermediate futures closed above 1 percent higher at $84.67 a barrel and Brent settled at $90.12, after a week in which prices fell more than 5 percent on hopes of de-escalation in the Middle East. A monitoring committee met the same day and, CNBC reports, repeated its concern that attacks on energy assets during the war on Iran are expensive and slow to repair, and so weigh on supply.
On what comes next, CNBC reports that OPEC+ sources expected the group to pause increases in the fourth quarter, yet the statement made no reference to the last three months of 2026. Reuters points the same way, tying a likely post-September pause to unnamed sources. Rystad analyst Jorge Leon told CNBC a pause remained feasible. “Our base case is a fourth-quarter pause while the group prepares for the 2027 quota negotiations,” he said, framing the task ahead as managing a surplus that could emerge as export flows return to normal. Settled: the size of the September rise and the completion of the 2023 rollback. Not settled: fourth-quarter policy and the 2027 baselines.
Still developing
The fourth-quarter decision is unresolved, because CNBC reports the official statement was silent on the final three months of 2026 even though sources cited by CNBC and by Reuters expect a pause. Also open is the capacity review that will set 2027 baselines, with CNBC reporting that Iraq and others want higher individual quotas.
How settled the reporting is
Sources
- CNBC — OPEC agrees September oil hike, completing rollback of voluntary cuts