Sources say OPEC intends to keep its oil production policy stable on Sunday

Sources say OPEC, OPEC meetings will start on Sunday at 13:00 GMT

OPEC and OPEC 8 members are expected to stick to production targets

nL2N3RY08R EXPLANATION on OPEC production increases and cuts

Ahmad Ghaddar and Olesya Astakhova

LONDON/MOSCOW, Nov 29 (Reuters) – OPEC is likely to leave its first-quarter 2026 oil output unchanged at its meetings on Sunday, three of the group’s delegates said on Saturday, easing efforts to regain market share amid fears of an oversupply.

The meeting of OPEC, which pumps half of the world’s crude oil, comes at a time when oil prices are also under pressure over the prospect of a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. On Friday, the price of Brent crude oil reached $63 per barrel, down 15% this year. Eight OPEC countries are likely to keep their policy of halting oil production increases unchanged in the first quarter of 2026 on Sunday, three delegates said, following similar comments from others this week. They agreed to a break at their last meeting in early November.

OPEC, which brings together the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia, pumps about half the world’s oil and has for years discussed production capacity data used to set members’ production targets.

At a separate meeting on Sunday, the entire OPEC group is expected to agree on a mechanism to assess members’ maximum production capacity, sources told Reuters this week. OPEC said in May that this capacity assessment would be used as a benchmark for baseline production values ​​for 2027.

The series of online meetings will start on Sunday at 13:00 GMT. OPEC ministers are also expected to make no changes to group-wide production targets for 2026, other sources said this week.

OPEC cut supplies for years until April, when eight members began increasing production to regain market share. The cuts peaked in March at 5.85 million barrels per day, totaling almost 6% of global production.

Eight countries – Saudi Arabia, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Iraq, Algeria and Oman – raised production targets by about 2.9 million barrels per day from April to December. (Reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar, Alex Lawler and Olesya Astakhova, writing by Alex Lawler, editing by Alexander Smith)