OPEC+ has agreed to modestly increase oil production from November, according to sources

Three people with knowledge of the situation said that OPEC+ is planning to increase oil production by 137,000 barrels a day (bpd) from November, the same modest increase as October.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and a few smaller producers have increased their oil production targets this year by over 2.6 million barrels per day. This is equivalent to around 2.5% of the global demand.

After years of reductions, the policy shift is intended to gain market share away from competitors such as U.S. Shale producers.

Three OPEC+ source said that OPEC+ had agreed to a 137,000 bpd hike in principle, ahead of a scheduled online meeting for Sunday at 1100 GMT.

Sources have stated that Russia and Saudi Arabia - the two largest producers in the OPEC+ Group - had differing views on the matter.

Two sources told us this week that Russia wanted to maintain a modest increase in output, similar to what it did in October, in order to avoid putting pressure on oil prices. It also wanted to do so because sanctions imposed by the United States over its conflict in Ukraine would make it difficult to increase production.

Sources said that Saudi Arabia preferred a figure of double, triple, or even four times higher - 274,000, 411,000, or 548,000 bpd.

OPEC+ production cuts peaked in march, totaling 5.85 million bpd. Three elements were included in the cuts: voluntary cuts by OPEC+ of 2.2m bpd; 1.65m bpd from eight members, and 2m bpd for the entire group.

Eight producers intend to unwind a portion of these cuts, 2.2 million bpd, by the end September. In October, the eight producers began removing the second layer - 1.65 million BPD - with an increase of 137,000 BPD. Reporting by Alex Lawler and Ahmad Ghaddar; writing by Alex Lawler; editing by David Goodman.

(source: Reuters)