OPEC+ mulls speeding up oil output hikes again, sources say

By Alex Lawler, Olesya Astakhova and Dmitry Zhdannikov LONDON (Reuters) -OPEC+ may speed up production increases in November from the 137,000 barrels per day hike it made for October at its meeting on Sunday as its leader Saudi Arabia pushes to regain market share, three sources familiar with the talks said. The group has made no final decision yet and member Russia could oppose a larger increase because it is unable to raise output owing to Western sanctions and is worried about weakening seasonal demand, one of the three sources said. Eight members of OPEC+ could agree to raise production in November by 274,000-411,000 bpd, or two or three times higher than the October increase, two of the three sources said. OPEC+ pumps about half of the world's oil. WINDING DOWN LAYERS OF CUTS The increase could be as big as 500,000 bpd, one of the three sources said. Earlier on Tuesday, Bloomberg News reported that OPEC+ was considering accelerating its increases by 500,000 bpd. OPEC in a post on X said it rejected media reports for plans to raise output by 500,000 bpd, calling them inaccurate and misleading. Authorities in Saudi Arabia did not immediately respond to a request for comment. OPEC+ in April reversed its strategy of output cuts and has already raised quotas by more than 2.5 million bpd, or about 2.4% of world demand, to boost market share and following pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to lower oil prices. The group has raised output in monthly chunks ranging from as little as 137,000 bpd to as much as 548,000 bpd. Eight OPEC+ countries will hold an online meeting on October 5 to decide on November output. OPEC+ includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other allies. At their peak, OPEC+'s total output reductions amounted to 5.85 million bpd, made up of three different elements – voluntary cuts of 2.2 million bpd, plus 1.65 million bpd by eight members, and another 2.0 million bpd by the whole group. The eight producers plan to fully unwind one element of those cuts – 2.2 million bpd – by the end of September. For October, they started removing a second layer, of 1.65 million bpd, with the increase of 137,000 bpd. (Reporting by Alex Lawler, Dmitry Zhdannikov and Olesya Astakhova. Additional reporting by Maha El Dahan. Editing by David Goodman, Mark Potter and Marguerita Choy)

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