OPEC+ keeps oil output targets unchanged for November as Hormuz closure keeps barrels off market

OPEC+ will keep its oil production targets unchanged for November, the group’s seven core members decided at a meeting on Sunday, extending the pause it started in October after six months of gradual increases, The National and Reuters report.

Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Kazakhstan and Oman — who met at 1100 GMT — agreed to “maintain September 2026 required production for November 2026”, the group said in a statement. Three sources close to the talks told Reuters ahead of the meeting that the group had agreed in principle to hold targets steady.

The decision reflects how little of the planned supply is actually reaching the market. The group finished unwinding 1.65 million barrels per day of voluntary 2023 cuts in September, but most members are pumping well below their quotas because of export disruptions from the US-Israeli war on Iran: the Strait of Hormuz, which carried roughly a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas, has been effectively closed since fighting began on February 28. Gulf exports have fluctuated at 60 to 80 per cent of normal levels in recent months, Reuters said.

The seven members pumped 25 million barrels per day in August — up 630,000 bpd from July but roughly 5 million bpd below prewar February levels, OPEC data shows. The joint quotas for November amount to 31 million bpd.

A further 2 million bpd of cuts agreed in 2022 stays in place until the end of the year, while a delayed review of members’ production capacity — meant to set quotas for 2027 — continues. The group will meet again on November 1. Brent crude settled at $102.25 a barrel on Friday.

Sources

• The National — “Opec+ keeps oil output targets unchanged for November” — https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/energy/2026/10/04/opec-keeps-oil-output-targets-unchanged-for-november/
• Reuters (via SRN News) — “OPEC+ agrees in principle to keep November oil output targets steady, sources say” — https://srnnews.com/opec-agrees-in-principle-to-keep-november-oil-output-targets-steady-sources-say/
• The Hindu BusinessLine — “OPEC+ agrees in principle to keep oil output targets unchanged in November, delegate says” — https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/markets/commodities/opec-agrees-in-principle-to-keep-oil-output-targets-unchanged-in-november-delegate-says/article71543145.ece