DUBAI/LONDON – OPEC+ kept oil output unchanged on Sunday after avoiding discussions of the multiple political crises affecting the producer group’s members, from the Middle East as well as Russia, Iran and Venezuela.
Sunday’s meeting of eight members of OPEC+, which pumps about half the world’s oil, came after oil prices fell more than 18 per cent in 2025 — their steepest yearly drop since 2020 — amid growing oversupply concerns, according to Reuters.
On Saturday, the United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, and US President Donald Trump said Washington would take control of the country until a transition to a new administration becomes possible, without saying how this would be achieved.
“Right now, oil markets are being driven less by supply, demand fundamentals and more by political uncertainty,” said Jorge Leon, head of geopolitical analysis at Rystad Energy and a former OPEC official. “And OPEC+ is clearly prioritising stability over action.”
The eight OPEC+ members – Saudi Arabia, Russia, the UAE, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Iraq, Algeria and Oman – raised oil output targets by around 2.9 million barrels per day in 2025, equal to almost 3 per cent of world oil demand, to regain market share.
The eight countries will next meet on February 1, OPEC+ said.
