OPEC+ core producers agreed in principle to hold November crude production targets steady during an online meeting on October 4, 2026. The decision marks the second consecutive month the alliance has paused quota increases as Middle East conflict suppresses actual oil output across the Persian Gulf.
Seven core members—Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Kazakhstan, and Oman—met virtually on October 4, 2026, to maintain September production levels through November. According to the official OPEC announcement, this decision follows a phased rollback of supply cuts initiated in 2023.
Christophe Barraud, head of discretionary management and research at LIOR Global Partners, reports that OPEC+ has agreed to leave oil production quotas unchanged in November.
Gulf Conflict Renders Quotas Symbolic
Shipping disruptions in the Persian Gulf have made formal production targets largely symbolic, even as those quotas climbed on paper throughout the year.
Aggregate production remains about 5 million barrels per day below pre-war levels. This persists despite a recent increase of roughly 600,000 to 630,000 barrels per day compared to July.
Total crude oil production in the whole OPEC+ alliance averaged 38.05 million bpd in August 2026, which was 300,000 bpd higher than July, according to OPEC’s Monthly Oil Market Report for September.
Energy Markets Face Fuel Pressures
Benchmark oil prices settled with mixed results as production bottlenecks in the Middle East affected international energy markets.
Consultants Audit Capacity for 2027
OPEC+ maintains approximately 2 million barrels per day of separate production cuts covering most members through the end of 2026. Restoring that supply depends on a comprehensive review of member production capacity currently being finalized by U.S. consultant DeGolyer and MacNaughton.
This audit will determine future baselines and quota distributions for 2027. A sub-group of OPEC+ will hold its next meeting on November 1.
Ministers from the seven core countries are scheduled to convene on November 29 to settle their production framework for the coming year, preceded by monthly market reviews and meetings of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee.