LONDON: Eight members of OPEC+ agreed on Sunday to raise their oil output quotas by 206,000 barrels per day for May, the group said after a virtual meeting.
The war has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz — the world’s most important oil route — since the end of February and cut exports from OPEC+ members Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Iraq, the only countries in the group which were able to significantly raise production even before the conflict began.
Crude prices have surged to a four-year high close to $120 a barrel, translating into soaring prices for transport fuels which are pressuring consumers and businesses across the globe, and triggering government action to conserve supplies.
The OPEC+ quota increase of 206,000 bpd represents less than 2 percent of the supply disrupted by the Hormuz closure, but it signals readiness to raise output once the waterway reopens, OPEC+ sources have said.
Besides the disruptions affecting Gulf members, others such as Russia are unable to increase output — in Moscow’s case due to Western sanctions and damage to infrastructure inflicted during the war with Ukraine.
