Argus Media Limited

10/04/2021 | News release | Distributed by Public on 10/04/2021 07:19

Opec+ JMMC recommends sticking to output policy

The Opec+ Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) is recommending that the group sticks with its planned 400,000 b/d increase in the collective crude output quota for November, four delegates told Argus.

The recommendation requires approval from the wider ministerial meeting, which is due to start at 14:00 BST (13:00 GMT).

JMMC members discussed raising quotas by 800,000 b/d and pausing the increase for December - effectively condensing the planned increase across the two months into one. With Ice Brent crude futures around $80/bl, inventories drawing down rapidly, and demand robust, there have been renewed calls - most notably from Washington - for Opec+ to consider restoring production more quickly than planned.

The current agreement targets a 400,000 b/d rise in the group's collective output ceiling each month from August until April next year, and by 432,000 b/d a month from May 2022 until last year's cuts are fully unwound. The increases must be rubber-stamped at monthly ministerial meetings and can be paused for up to three months if market conditions warrant it.

While trading and Opec sources flagged robust appetite in the short term, Opec+ members said that the outlook for crude demand in the first quarter of next year is uncertain.

By Rowena Edwards, Ruxandra Iordache, and Nader Itayim