Eight oil-exporting countries within the (OPEC+) group announced today, Monday, that they will gradually begin increasing their production starting from April 1st, after having voluntarily reduced it by 2.2 million barrels per day since 2023.  

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) stated in a press release following a virtual meeting that the decision is based on positive market expectations, while emphasizing the possibility of adjusting or canceling the decision depending on market conditions.  

OPEC clarified that this flexibility will help support the stability of oil markets.  

The virtual meeting was attended by representatives from eight countries: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Russia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman. During the meeting, global oil market conditions and future outlooks were reviewed.  

The Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee of the (OPEC+) alliance had previously maintained its oil production policy unchanged following a meeting of member country delegates in Vienna in early February. This came after the alliance postponed, during its December 2024 meeting, its planned oil production increase for three months until April 2025.  

In the same meeting, the alliance also decided to extend the additional voluntary cuts of 1.65 million barrels per day, announced in April 2023, until the end of December 2026.