By Syed Rashid Husain
The Saudi-led Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is back on the tried and tested path of increasing output, in coordination with other major non-OPEC oil producers, including Russia in the extended OPEC+, to regain its lost market share. The result has been disastrous in previous such episodes. Could it be any different this time? A billion-dollar question.
On Saturday, July 5, eight leading members of OPEC+, after a virtual meeting, announced an increase in their total output by 548,000 barrels per day (bpd) from August; a higher than anticipated increase.
This increase, equivalent to roughly 0.5 per cent of total global production, was higher than the 411,000 bpd that the group has been adding over the last few months. With the suggested addition of 548,000 bpd from August, OPEC+ is now on track to fully unwind the 2.2 million bpd of cuts by September, a year ahead of schedule. It is now expected that with another output addition in September, OPEC will be able to bring online the en