Ministers from the OPEC+ group of oil-producing countries agreed to cut their collective output target by 2 million barrels a day from November when they met on Wednesday. How much their actual production falls could be as little as one-tenth of the headline figure.
Although the group comprises 23 countries, the burden of the latest cut will be shared by just three — Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. Most of the others are already pumping so far below their quota levels that their output will still fall short of their new allocations.
Estimates of OPEC+’s September production suggest that, collectively, it’s lagging the planned level by about 3.6 million barrels a day.
