OPEC+ was set to agree on last night on another modest increase in oil output targets, three sources familiar with the talks said, as the producers’ group executes plans to regain market share due to rising supply glut fears.
OPEC+ has raised output targets by more than 2.7 million barrels per day — about 2.5 percent of global supply — since April, but slowed the pace in October and November from larger increases amid predictions of a looming oversupply.
New Western sanctions on OPEC+ member Russia are adding to challenges in the discussions as Moscow might struggle to further raise output after the US and the UK imposed new measures on top producers PJSC Rosneft Oil Co and PJSC Lukoil Oil Co.
Photo: Reuters
Eight OPEC+ members — Saudi Arabia, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Kazakhstan and Algeria — were set to agree after press time last night to increase December output targets by 137,000 barrels per day, the three sources said.
They declined to be named because they are not allowed to speak to the media. A fourth source said a pause in output hikes was also possible.
Oil prices fell to a five-month low of about US$60 a barrel on Oct. 20 due to concerns that a glut was building, but have since recovered to about US$65 a barrel on Russian sanctions and optimism over US talks with trade partners.
Analysts have said this week they expect OPEC+ to raise targets by 137,000 barrels per day for next month.
Yesterday’s meeting was scheduled for 4pm GMT, the three sources said.
OPEC+ had been reducing output for several years until April and cuts had peaked in March, amounting to 5.85 million barrels per day in total. The cuts were made up of three elements: voluntary cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day, 1.65 million barrels per day by eight members and a further 2 million barrels per day by the whole group.
The group has been unwinding voluntary cuts while the last element of the cuts for the whole group is meant to stay in place until the end of next year.
The DBS Foundation yesterday announced the launch of two flagship programs, “Silver Motion” and “Happier Caregiver, Healthier Seniors,” in partnership with CCILU Ltd, Hondao Senior Citizens’ Welfare Foundation and the Garden of Hope Foundation to help Taiwan face the challenges of a rapidly aging population. The foundation said it would invest S$4.91 million (US$3.8 million) over three years to foster inclusion and resilience in an aging society. “Aging may bring challenges, but it also brings opportunities. With many Asian markets rapidly becoming super-aged, the DBS Foundation is working with a regional ecosystem of like-minded partners across the private, public and people sectors
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has secured three construction permits for its plan to build a state-of-the-art A14 wafer fab in Taichung, and is likely to start construction soon, the Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau said yesterday. Speaking with CNA, Wang Chun-chieh (王俊傑), deputy director general of the science park bureau, said the world’s largest contract chipmaker has received three construction permits — one to build a fab to roll out sophisticated chips, another to build a central utility plant to provide water and electricity for the facility and the other to build three office buildings. With the three permits, TSMC
BREAKTHROUGH TECH: Powertech expects its fan-out PLP system to become mainstream, saying it can offer three-times greater production throughput Chip packaging service provider Powertech Technology Inc (力成科技) plans to more than double its capital expenditures next year to more than NT$40 billion (US$1.31 billion) as demand for its new panel-level packaging (PLP) technology, primarily used in chips for artificial intelligence (AI) applications, has greatly exceeded what it can supply. A significant portion of the budget, about US$1 billion, would be earmarked for fan-out PLP technology, Powertech told investors yesterday. Its heavy investment in fan-out PLP technology over the past 10 years is expected to bear fruit in 2027 after the technology enters volume production, it said, adding that the tech would
YEAR-END BOOST: The holiday shopping season in the US and Europe, combined with rising demand for AI applications, is expected to drive exports to a new high, the NDC said Taiwan’s business climate monitor improved last month, transitioning from steady growth for the first time in five months, as robust global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) products and new iPhone shipments boosted exports and corporate sales, the National Development Council (NDC) said yesterday. The council uses a five-color system to measure the nation’s economic state, with “green” indicating steady growth, “red” suggesting a boom and “blue” reflecting a recession. “Yellow-red” and “yellow-blue” suggest a transition to a stronger or weaker condition. The total score of the monitor’s composite index rose to 35 points from a revised 31 in August, ending a four-month
RSS