by Alex Lawler, Ahmad Ghaddar and Olesya Astakhova
LONDON/MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies in the OPEC+ alliance have moved closer to a compromise with African crude producers on production levels for 2024, three sources within the cartel told Reuters.
OPEC+ announced on Wednesday that it had postponed a ministerial-level meeting from November 26 to November 30 during which the production levels of member countries were to be discussed. According to sources, this postponement is linked to disagreements over production targets.
African members of the organization such as Angola and Nigeria particularly want to increase their production, OPEC+ officials said on Thursday.
The postponement of the OPEC+ meeting caused a sharp drop in oil prices, which have however since recovered, with the price of Brent trading above $81 per barrel on Friday.
One of the sources put the probability of an agreement on November 30 at 99%, while the other two sources only indicated that an agreement was close. A fourth source said discussions were ongoing.
Nigeria’s OPEC governor, Gabriel Tanimu Aduda, told Reuters on Thursday that he was not aware of any disagreements with other OPEC+ members over his country’s production targets.
Nigeria and Angola’s production quotas were lowered at the last OPEC+ meeting in June, after both countries had failed for years to meet previously set targets.
Several analysts have said they expect OPEC+ to extend, or even intensify, its oil supply reduction program in 2024 in order to support prices.
The market is also waiting to see if Saudi Arabia will renew, on a voluntary basis, its decision to reduce its extractions by one million barrels per day, a program which ends in principle at the end of December.
(With the contribution of Maha El Dahan in Dubai, French version Claude Chendjou, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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