Opec+ holds December oil output targets steady as Iran war disrupts supply

The Opec+ bloc kept its oil production targets unchanged for December, maintaining September's required production levels as the war in the Middle East continues to disrupt global energy supplies.

The group's seven core members – Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Algeria, Russia and Kazakhstan – decided during a meeting on Sunday to “maintain September 2026 required production for December 2026” after reviewing global market conditions and the outlook, a statement said.

The group finished unwinding 1.65 million barrels per day of voluntary cuts from 2023 in September. It is keeping a further two million bpd of cuts, agreed in 2022, in place until the end of the year. It is also reviewing members' production capacity to set quotas for 2027.

The seven Opec+ countries “reiterated their collective commitment to achieve full conformity with the Declaration of Cooperation”, the statement said. The producers will continue holding monthly meetings to review market conditions, with the next gathering scheduled for November 29.

The joint production targets for the seven members amount to about 31 million bpd for December, unchanged from September, October and November. Saudi Arabia has the largest allocation at 10.478 million bpd, followed by Russia at 9.949 million bpd and Iraq at 4.431 million bpd.

Kuwait's target stands at 2.676 million bpd, Kazakhstan's at 1.628 million bpd, Algeria's at 1.007 million bpd and Oman's at 841,000 bpd. But most members are producing below their targets because of the war.

The group reaffirmed its commitment to market stability, although the statement did not announce any additional production adjustments or provide a timetable for increasing output.

The Strait of Hormuz, which carried about a fifth of the world's crude oil and liquefied natural gas, has been effectively shut since fighting between the US and Iran started on February 28.

The conflict, now entering its ninth month, has no clear endgame in sight. Fears are growing that the US might resume hostilities on Iran after the US midterm elections, with President Donald Trump saying the war “will be wrapped up soon”.

Israeli media reports, meanwhile, claim that the country's defence establishment is preparing for the possibility of another round of conflict with Iran, both offensively and defensively, although Mr Trump has yet to make a decision on launching a new military campaign.

Attacks on commercial vessels in and around the strait reached their highest monthly level in the Iran-US war in October, with at least 35 attacks reported, according to maritime incident tracking data.

Escalating attacks from Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi rebels on Saudi Arabia have also added to the regional tensions. On Saturday, Riyadh said its air defences had “intercepted and destroyed a hostile drone” in the Saudi capital. That followed dozens of Houthi strikes on Saudi assets over the past weeks.

Oil prices settled up more than 2 per cent on Friday to hit six-month highs and post a fourth straight monthly gain. Brent was up 2.4 per cent at $117.64 a barrel, after briefly touching $118, while West Texas Intermediate gained 2.08 per cent to settle at $104.12 a barrel.