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By Olesya Astakhova and Alex Lawler
- OPEC+ seven members meet on August 2
- Iran war pushes oil back to $100 a barrel
- Red Sea threats raise Gulf export concerns
MOSCOW/LONDON, July 23 – OPEC+ oil-producing countries will likely agree a further hike in output targets from September when they meet on August 2, three sources said, even though the Iran war is again hindering some of its members from pumping more.
The group has been raising targets in recent months, hoping to recapture market share when the war ends. But their plans have been repeatedly delayed by renewed fighting and disruptions to oil flows from the Gulf and in recent days from the Red Sea.
Seven core OPEC+ members, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Kazakhstan and Oman, will likely increase their output target by about 188,000 barrels per day for September, the same as for June, July and August, the sources told Reuters.
OPEC and Russian authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment. All sources spoke on condition of anonymity and said no final decision had been made.
OPEC+ output is currently far below the quotas as the Iran war disrupts exports from Gulf members. OPEC+ in June pumped 36.28 million bpd, down from almost 43 million bpd in February before the war began, OPEC figures show.
The August 2 meeting comes as oil prices have risen to $100 a barrel amid renewed concerns over Gulf exports after the collapse of a preliminary U.S.-Iran peace agreement, which had allowed shipments to increase through the Strait of Hormuz.
The Houthis have also attacked Saudi Arabian oil tankers in recent days, disrupting the main Gulf bypass for Saudi exports.
The seven OPEC+ producers are boosting output as part of the phased rollback of a 1.65 million bpd supply cut agreed in 2023, when the group still included the United Arab Emirates, which left OPEC in May.
The seven have hiked their output quotas from April through August by 958,000 bpd. Another increase of roughly 188,000 bpd for September will fully unwind the 2023 cut taking into account the UAE exit, Reuters calculations show.
OPEC+ includes 21 members including Iran, but in recent years only the seven countries, and the UAE until its departure, have been involved in monthly production management.
Writing by Ahmad Ghaddar, editing by Kirsten Donovan, Dmitry Zhdannikov and Alexander Smith
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