OPEC+ agrees in principle to keep November oil output targets steady, sources say

By Ahmad Ghaddar, Alex Lawler and Olesya Astakhova

LONDON/MOSCOW, Oct 4 (Reuters) - OPEC+ has agreed in principle to keep oil production targets steady ‌for November, three sources close to the matter said ahead ‌of the group's meeting on Sunday.

Gulf OPEC+ producers have been pumping well below output targets ​in the face of continuing export disruptions from the US-Israeli war on Iran, with exports fluctuating at 60-80% of normal levels in recent months.

The war has also delayed the group's output capacity review — crucial to determine members' 2027 ‌output quotas — because it has ⁠thrown estimates of future production potential into uncertainty, industry sources have said.

The OPEC+ group, comprising the Organization of the ⁠Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia, has agreed in principle to keep targets steady for November, the three sources close to the talks said.

OPEC+ ​has been ​raising output targets for much of ​2026 after years of production ‌cuts, but most of the increases stayed on paper because of the Middle East conflict.

The seven core OPEC+ members pumped 25 million barrels per day in August, up 630,000 bpd from July, yet still roughly 5 million bpd below prewar levels in February, OPEC data shows.

OPEC+ still has about ‌2 million bpd of output cuts in ​place covering most members. It needs a ​capacity review to decide how ​to distribute increases and any changes to output are ‌unlikely before 2027, sources have said.

The group's ​seven core members ​meeting at 1100 GMT on Sunday are Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Kazakhstan and Oman.

A separate OPEC+ ministerial group called the ​Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC), ‌which does not decide policy, also meets on Sunday to review ​the market.

(Reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar, Olesya Astakhova and Alex LawlerWriting ​by Dmitry ZhdannikovEditing by David Goodman)