OPEC+ likely to maintain oil production pause for March as prices climb, sources say

LONDON/MOSCOW: OPEC+ is expected to keep its pause on oil output increases for March at a meeting on Sunday, three OPEC+ delegates told Reuters, with prices rising due to a drop in Kazakhstan's oil production.

The meeting of eight members of OPEC+, which pumps about half the world's oil, follows an 8% jump in oil prices so far this month to exceed $66 a barrel despite concern that a supply glut would push prices down.

The eight members - Saudi Arabia, Russia, UAE, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Iraq, Algeria and Oman - are due to meet on February 1. They raised oil output targets by around 2.9 million barrels per day from April to December 2025, equal to almost 3% of world demand, and paused monthly hikes for January-March amid weak demand forecasts.

OPEC and authorities in Saudi Arabia and Russia did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment on the upcoming meeting.

Bloomberg earlier reported that OPEC+ would keep oil policy steady.

Commenting on Venezuelan output, one of the three delegates said a recovery would take time, and was not yet likely to have a major impact on the global oil market balance.

The U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro early in January and urged oil companies to invest in Venezuela to boost production.

Threats of possible U.S. strikes on Iran have raised the prospect of reduced supplies, while drone attacks and technical issues have reduced output in Kazakhstan.

JP Morgan expects Kazakhstan's Tengiz oilfield to remain offline for the rest of January. Kazakhstan's crude output will average 1.0-1.1 million bpd in January, versus the usual level of around 1.8 million bpd, JPM said.