Seven major oil-exporting countries agreed on Sunday to maintain production at September 2026 levels for November.
The decision was taken at a virtual meeting of the OPEC+ subgroup, which includes Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman.
It is the second consecutive month that the group has paused output increases, following a run of monthly hikes from April to September.
The Iran war has driven the price of benchmark Brent crude above $100 a barrel.
Gulf producers have been pumping well below their targets because of export disruptions caused by the United States (US)-Iran conflict, with shipments running at 60 to 80 per cent of normal levels in recent months.
The increases announced earlier in 2026 have largely remained on paper because of the fighting in the Middle East.
The Underlying Numbers
The seven countries pumped about 25 million barrels per day in August, up 630,000 barrels from July but roughly 5 million barrels below February levels, before the war began.
Cuts of around 2 million barrels per day remain in force for most OPEC+ members.
The war has also delayed a review of individual production capacity needed to set quotas for 2027, and changes to quota distribution are not expected before then.
The Group of Seven (G7) wealthy democracies said on Friday that they plan to release 100 million barrels of oil and fuel products in the coming weeks, starting with substantial amounts of diesel.
Diesel prices recently hit record highs in the US, squeezing farmers, truckers and consumers who depend on the fuel.
OPEC+ will hold its next meeting on 1 November to review market conditions and make further decisions.
The Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee, which tracks market conditions but does not set production policy, will also meet separately.
For now, the group says stability remains its priority, even as the war continues to distort global oil flows.
This is dare I say, “modern day oil boom”? Now do not get me wrong the prices are hellish, but in all honesty this is exactly just that. Unfortunately, it is not full spreading, only available to just a few. For Nigeria the prices are bad, honestly have not seen it this bad in all my years on this earth, hopefully with the event of the elections coming January 2027, and maybe the hopeful end of the wars, prices will drop.