OPEC, Non-OPEC to Discuss Sharing Production Increase

An OPEC and non-OPEC technical committee will next week discuss proposals for sharing an oil output increase, sources familiar with the matter said, a tense topic for the producer group after it decided in June to ease supply curbs.

A panel called the Joint Technical Committee will on Tuesday consider proposals on distributing the agreed output increase of 1 million barrels per day, the sources said, Reuters reported.

“The talks will look at various mechanisms” to reach the required production level, a source said.

If resolved, the talks could lead to an easing of tensions within the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Iran had been against the June decision, which came amid pressure from US President Donald Trump to reduce oil prices.

There are four proposals on how to distribute the increase, presented by Iran, Algeria, Russia and Venezuela, one of the sources said, suggesting that the agreement will not be straightforward.

One idea, to share it pro-rata among participating countries, is unlikely to be approved by Russia and Saudi Arabia since it would give them less than the supply boosts of 300,000 and 400,000 bpd that they respectively want, the source said.