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Sources say that OPEC+ has agreed in principle to another major increase in oil production.

OPEC+ has agreed to increase oil production by 548,000 barrels a day in September. Two OPEC+ sources confirmed this on Sunday, as the group completes its largest tranche of production reductions amid fears that Russia will disrupt supply further.

The meeting, which is scheduled to start at 1100 GMT on Monday, will likely result in a decision. Washington has recently demanded that India stop purchasing Russian oil. Washington also wants to find ways to pressure Moscow to reach a peace agreement with Ukraine. New EU sanctions have also forced Indian refiners and state-owned companies to stop buying Russian oil.

OPEC+ has been reducing production to support the oil market for many years. It reversed its course in order to regain market shares and after U.S. president Donald Trump demanded that OPEC pump even more oil.

OPEC+ increased its output in April, starting with a modest increase of 138,000 bpd. This was followed by increases of 411,000 bpd between May, June, and July, and then 548,000 bpd during August.

If the group accepts the 548,000 bpd increase in September, it will have completely unwound the 2.2 million bpd production cut, allowing the United Arab Emirates an additional 300,000bpd.

OPEC+ has a voluntary, separate cut of 1.65 million bpd by eight members. A 2-million bpd reduction is also in place for all members. These cuts expire at the beginning of 2026.

The group has not discussed other cuts in the past. (Alex Lawler, Dmitry Zhdannikov and William Mallard contributed additional reporting; Dmitry Zhdannikov wrote the article; Lincoln Feast and William Mallard edited it.)

(source: Reuters)