The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) issued a statement on January 4th, stating that eight major oil-producing countries within OPEC and non-OPEC countries have decided to maintain the production plan established in early November 2025, continuing to suspend production increases in February and March 2026.

Representatives from Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman held an online meeting that day to discuss the situation and prospects of the international oil market.

The statement said that due to seasonal factors, these countries decided to suspend the pace of production increases in February and March 2026, maintaining the same production levels as in December 2025 and January 2026.

The statement also said that to maintain the stability of the oil market, the eight countries will flexibly adjust the pace of production increases according to market conditions.

These eight countries announced voluntary production cuts of approximately 1.65 million barrels of crude oil per day in April 2023, and again announced additional voluntary production cuts of 2.2 million barrels of crude oil per day in November 2023.  These two major production cuts have been extended several times since then. However, during this period, crude oil production increased in countries such as the United States and Canada, leading to OPEC losing some market share.

In March 2025, the eight countries decided to gradually increase crude oil production starting from April 1st of the same year. The daily increase was 411,000 barrels in May, June, and July, 548,000 barrels in August, 547,000 barrels in September, and 137,000 barrels in October, November, and December.

In November 2025, OPEC issued a statement saying that the eight countries decided to suspend the pace of production increases in January, February, and March 2026, maintaining the same production levels as in December 2025.

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