Commodities

OPEC+ Holds December Oil Output Targets Steady, Leaving 2027 Quotas for a Nov. 29 Meeting

Seven core OPEC+ members kept December production targets at September levels, about 31 million barrels a day combined, leaving 2027 quotas to a Nov. 29 meeting of all members.

Nov 01, 2026 - 12:16

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Seven core members of OPEC+ agreed on Sunday, November 1, 2026, to keep their oil production targets for December unchanged at September 2026 levels, according to a statement published by OPEC after an online meeting. The decision, which included Saudi Arabia and Russia, means the group made no new output adjustment for the last month of the year.

The joint targets for the seven producers amount to about 31 million barrels per day for December, the same as in September, October and November, The National reported. Most members are producing below those targets because the Iran war has disrupted exports from the Gulf.

What the producers agreed

The group's statement said the seven countries "decided to maintain September 2026 required production for December 2026" and "reiterated their collective commitment to achieve full conformity with the Declaration of Cooperation," the framework that links OPEC with allied producers. They will continue to hold monthly meetings, with the next set for November 29, 2026.

Required production levels published with the decision include:

Saudi Arabia: 10.478 million barrels per day
Russia: 9.949 million barrels per day
Iraq: 4.431 million barrels per day
Kuwait: 2.676 million barrels per day
Algeria: 1.007 million barrels per day
Oman: 841,000 barrels per day

The figures were also reported by Arab News. The statement did not announce further production changes or a timetable for raising output.

The harder decision comes later this month

The seven members raised output targets for much of 2026 and in September completed the phased rollback of a 1.65 million-barrel-per-day supply cut first agreed in 2023, Reuters reported, in a story carried by Moneycontrol. At earlier meetings they kept targets steady for October and November. Another layer of cuts of about 2 million barrels per day, agreed in 2022, remains in place for most members through the end of 2026.

All members of the 21-country group are due to meet on November 29, when analysts expect a decision on 2027 quotas, according to Reuters. Before that, the group needs to complete a review of members' production capacity to set the baselines used for future quotas. Because the war has disrupted capacity expansion projects across the Middle East, that review is now expected to be finished by mid-November, Reuters said. Only the seven members, plus the United Arab Emirates until it left OPEC in May, have taken part in the monthly output decisions in recent years.

"Today's decision was the easy one," said Jorge Leon, an analyst at Rystad. "The much more important test comes at the November 29 ministerial meeting, when OPEC+ will decide its 2027 production framework." Leon added that the group "has to plan around huge uncertainty over the US-Iran war, the pace of recovery through the Strait of Hormuz, and the size of the surplus that could emerge once disrupted barrels return."

The International Energy Agency and other forecasters have warned of excess supply in 2027 if Gulf flows return to normal, according to Reuters.

Supply disruption and prices

The Strait of Hormuz, which carried about a fifth of the world's crude oil and liquefied natural gas, has been effectively shut since fighting between the United States and Iran began on February 28, The National reported. Attacks on commercial vessels in and around the strait reached their highest monthly level of the conflict in October, with at least 35 reported, according to maritime incident data cited by the newspaper. On Saturday, Saudi authorities said air defenses had intercepted and destroyed a hostile drone over Riyadh.

Oil prices entered the weekend at their highest levels since April. Brent crude's expiring December contract settled up 2.4% at $117.64 a barrel on Friday, October 30, after briefly touching $118, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.08% to $104.12, The National reported. The more actively traded January Brent contract rose $2.63 to $113.43, according to Reuters figures published by Euronext. Reuters said traders were bracing for a possible escalation in the war after the U.S. midterm elections on November 3.

Brent posted its fourth consecutive monthly gain in October. With the December contract expired, January is now the front-month Brent contract, and futures trading resumes Sunday evening for the first sessions since the OPEC+ decision.