Eight OPEC oil producing nations Thursday agreed to boost crude oil production by 411,000 barrels a day, lowering prices by 6%. The increase was much more than expected and starts in May. President of the Opec Conference and Saudi Arabian Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Minister Khalid Al-Falih seen during a news conference at OPEC headquarters in Vienna, Austria, May 25 2017. File photo by Lisi Niesner/EPA/EFE
April 3 (UPI) — Eight OPEC oil-producing nations Thursday agreed to boost crude oil production beginning in May.
OPEC said in a statement that Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman “reaffirmed their commitment” to voluntary production adjustments as they announced plans to boost production to a more-than-expected 411,000 barrels a day.
“The gradual increases may be paused or reversed subject to evolving market conditions. This flexibility will allow the group to continue to support oil market stability,” OPEC said in a statement.
The move sent oil prices lower by 5.94% for Ice Brent which was at $70.50 a barrel in London trading.
Nymex WTI prices were down 6.41% at $67.11 per barrel.
The OPEC countries were expected to ramp up production by just under 140,000 barrels a day.
They said this move will increase the compensation of the nations producing more oil.
The added production is equivalent to three monthly increments of increases, according to OPEC.
It comes as the 8 nations are ending a voluntary reduction in their crude oil output of 2.2 million barrels a day.
The larger 22-member OPEC organization has a cut of 3.66 million barrels a day still in force through the end of 2026.