Image of the OPEC headquarters in Vienna, Austria. Photo: alex.ch.
Guacamaya, March 4, 2025. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) announced on Monday that it will maintain its plans to increase crude oil production in April by 138,000 barrels per day that month. This would mark the first coordinated production increase since 2022.
The price of Brent crude, a benchmark in the global oil market, fell by 2.1% on Tuesday, reaching a low of $69.79 per barrel, though it rebounded to $71 per barrel by the end of the day. The decline was attributed to expectations that the production increase might be delayed.
OPEC+, which includes its members and 10 other countries, such as Russia and Mexico, sets its own production quotas in an effort to steer the global oil market. Iran, Venezuela, and Libya are members of OPEC but are exempt from quotas, due to sanctions against the first two countries, and the prolonged civil war in the third.
