Overview
- Delegates say Sunday’s online meetings are expected to ratify a pause on planned production increases for the first quarter of 2026.
- The full group is slated to approve a mechanism to assess members’ maximum production capacity to guide future baselines, with use indicated for 2027.
- Ministers plan four video sessions on Sunday: OPEC only, the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee, all OPEC+ ministers, then a meeting of the eight countries that adjusted output in 2025.
- Brent hovers near $63 a barrel as the IEA projects inventories could swell by up to 5 million barrels per day in early 2026, a view OPEC’s Haitham al Ghais disputes as he forecasts a balanced market next year.
- Context for the pause includes deep cuts that peaked at 5.85 million bpd in March followed by about 2.9 million bpd of target increases by eight members from April to December, with a separate 2 million bpd group-wide cut still set through 2026.