The OPEC+ group looks set to hold its December 1 meeting to discuss production levels online rather than in person in Vienna, delegates told Bloomberg, noting they haven’t yet received invitations for a meeting at the OPEC headquarters in Vienna.
OPEC+ is also understood to not have started – yet – any preparations regarding logistics to hold an in-person meeting at its headquarters in the Austrian capital city, according to the anonymous OPEC+ delegates who spoke to Bloomberg.
OPEC+ has already postponed the addition of oil supply to the market which was scheduled to begin next month.
In early November, OPEC+ announced it would delay the planned start to the easing of the alliance’s production cuts from December 1, 2024, to January 1, 2025.
The group’s decision wasn’t too surprising, considering that it had conditioned a December supply boost of 180,000 barrels per day (bpd) on ‘market conditions’. A month before OPEC+ was due to begin reversing the production cuts, it apparently decided that market conditions were not supportive of adding supply.
Global oil demand growth has been weaker than OPEC expected earlier this year, the cartel has acknowledged the same time, that non-OPEC+ supply has been rising, especially from the United States, Guyana, and Brazil.
At the December 1 meeting, whether online or in-person, OPEC+ could opt to delay the supply addition once again, considering the weaker-than-expected demand, according to analysts.
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“I can’t say it’s popular in the group but there would be no strong objection to a delay until the first quarter,” an OPEC+ sources told Reuters this week.
At the same time, deepening the cuts to support prices and prevent a surplus on the market would be even more unpopular, analysts say.
Many producers are already keen to boost output.
“We think deeper cuts, which ultimately may be required to support oil prices next year, could be difficult to stomach,” Walt Chancellor of Macquarie told Reuters.
