The OPEC+ alliance, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, decided on Saturday to increase its oil supply by 411,000 barrels per day (bd) starting June 1, after having already increased production by the same volume in May, the EFE agency reports.
The increase, which is being implemented by eight of the 22 member states of the oil alliance, was decided in an online meeting, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries announced, according to Agerpres.
“Eight OPEC+ countries, which previously announced additional voluntary adjustments in April and November 2023 (Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman), met virtually on May 3, 2025 to analyze global market conditions and prospects,” the statement said.
“In the context of the current strong market fundamentals, reflected in low oil inventories,” these eight countries, a core group of the alliance of 12 OPEC members and 10 allied producing nations, “will implement an adjustment (up) of 411,000 barrels per day in June 2025,” the source added.
The level of increase is triple the initial monthly increase. The original plan, which came into effect on April 1, called for a slow and steady increase over 18 months, starting in April, with monthly increases of about 137,000 barrels per day.
But with Saturday’s decision, along with the one announced a month ago, these countries raised supply by 959,000 bpd, filling almost half of the planned total in just three months.
This new OPEC+ policy surprised markets, accustomed to the very cautious strategy that the alliance had maintained since the crisis triggered by the Covid pandemic in the sector, focused on recovering investor confidence, ensuring a high level of prices.
The unexpected announcement of tripling the monthly increase starting from May 1, established at the beginning of April, after the “shock” caused by the US decision to increase import taxes, exerted downward pressure on oil prices.
The price of a barrel of Brent oil, the benchmark for Europe, which lost more than 15% of its value in April, ended Friday’s session on the London Stock Exchange at $61.29, 1.35% less than the previous day’s close.
The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil also fell, closing at $58.11, down 1.91% from Thursday and a weekly loss of about 8%.
According to analysts, Saudi Arabia is showing that it can withstand lower oil sales revenues and thus put pressure on other partners, such as Kazakhstan and Iraq, to adhere more strictly to the established quotas.
At the same time, OPEC is counting on some optimistic prospects, with demand increasing during the holiday season. On the other hand, US President Donald Trump already asked OPEC in January to do something to lower energy prices, in order to mitigate inflation.