OPEC+ will symbolically increase oil production. The UAE, which recently left the organization, has its own plans

The major countries of the expanded Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+) have agreed to symbolically increase their production quotas in June. At the same time, the United Arab Emirates, which unexpectedly reported its withdrawal on April 28, has reported its own plans to increase production.

Bloomberg writes about this.

Seven countries led by Saudi Arabia and Russia will increase production by 188 000 barrels per day next month. The members had expected a small increase even before the UAEʼs withdrawal. The actual recovery of these volumes will depend on the opening of the Strait of Hormuz and the resumption of suspended production.

The UAE also reiterated its ambitions to boost output, a stumbling block to its OPEC membership for years. The country’s flagship oil company “Adnoc” said it planned to accelerate its growth program with $55 billion in new projects across both production and refining. The spending is part of a broader program it announced earlier.

The UAEʼs exit, which caught other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners by surprise, will further weaken the groupʼs ability to influence prices, which has already been eroded by years of rising output from rivals, including US shale gas.

Like the quota increase planned for May, OPEC’s move is largely symbolic: its Middle Eastern members will not be able to implement it unless the Strait of Hormuz, blocked by a war between the United States, Israel and Iran, is reopened and they are unable to resume exports from the Persian Gulf.

But the UAE’s actions mean that, without OPEC quota restrictions, they will be able to ramp up supply as quickly as they like once the waterway is free again.

For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.