As Russia’s war in Ukraine started to scramble the world’s oil flows, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and OPEC+ allies agreed to another modest oil output boost, resisting Western pressure to pump more.
OPEC said in a statement that it will raise output by about 432,000 barrels per day (bpd) in May, compared to 400,000 bpd in previous months.
The coalition stated that technical reasons were behind the price ceiling alteration.
The decision is in line with last-year OPEC strategy.
In 2021, OPEC imposed drastic cuts in supply in order to deal with the slump in demand induced by the pandemic.
Justifying the cautious move, the oil company said geopolitical tensions led to a surge in prices, noting that it does not expect that this would have a significant influence on the prices of gas or heating oil.
In this context, according to Reuters, the White House said in a statement Thursday that US President Joe Biden’s administration announced a plan to withdraw one million barrels per day from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) over the next six months.
