The Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies led by the Russian Federation has decided to keep oil production quota unchanged until its next meeting in June.
The oil cartel and together with its newfound friends in a statement following the meeting appreciated the commitment of its members towards the declaration of cooperation.
The committee appreciated commitments from Iraq and Kazakhstan to fully comply and offset any excess production, along with Russia’s declaration that its reductions in the second quarter will be calculated based on production levels rather than exports.
It further stated that countries who produced above their production quota in the first quarter of 2024 should provide details of compensation plan by the 30th of April, 2024.
- What OPEC is saying, “The JMMC reviewed the crude oil production data for the months of January and February 2024 and noted the high conformity for participating OPEC and non-OPEC countries of the Declaration of Cooperation (DoC).”
- “The Committee welcomed the Republic of Iraq and the Republic of Kazakhstan pledge to achieve full conformity as well as compensate for overproduction. The Committee also welcomed the announcement by the Russian Federation that its voluntary adjustments in the second quarter of 2024 will be based on production instead of exports.”
- “Participating countries with outstanding overproduced volumes for the months of January, February and March 2024 will submit their detailed compensation plans to the OPEC Secretariat by 30 April 2024.”
Oil price increase
Following the conclusion of the meeting, Brent crude soared to around $90 on Wednesday, reaching its peak since late October 2023. This year, oil prices have surged due to reduced supply, assaults on Russian energy facilities, and conflict in the Middle East.
Recent oil production cuts
In March, OPEC + led by Saudi Arabia and Russia decided to extend their production cuts for the next three months- far into the second quarter.
For Russia, its production cuts amount to 471,000 barrels per day (bpd) while the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia reduced production by 1million barrels going as far back as July 2023.
