Saudi Arabia hails OPEC+ agreement on new production quota system

The logo of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is seen outside of OPEC's headquarters in Vienna, Austria. (AP Photo/Lisa Leutner, File)

DUBAI — A new mechanism adopted by OPEC+ to assess members’ maximum output capacity will ultimately help to stabilize markets and reward those who invest in production, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said on Monday.

The OPEC+ group approved the mechanism to assess members’ maximum production capacity to be used for setting baselines from 2027, against which their output targets are set, OPEC said on Sunday.

Prince Abdulaziz said the mechanism was “fair and transparent” for determining production levels.

“Now we have the most detailed, the most technical, transparent approach of how we can move forward in the future in managing the market and how to attend to production,” he said.

“Yesterday was probably one of the most successful days in my personal career and I am very grateful and thankful for the support of our friends in Russia,” he said during the launch of a Saudi-Russian business forum in Riyadh.

The meetings on Sunday of OPEC+, which groups the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia, also agreed to leave oil output levels unchanged for the first quarter of 2026.

The evaluation of members’ maximum production capacity is scheduled to take place between January and September 2026, according to sources following the meetings, allowing for 2027 output quotas to be set.

“It will also be a mechanism that will reward those who invest and those who believe there is growth, and would put us in the lead amongst the other producers,” Prince Abdulaziz said.

OPEC+ has been discussing the production capacity and quotas issue for years in talks that had proved difficult because some members such as the United Arab Emirates have increased capacity and want higher quotas.

Other members such as African countries have seen declines in production capacity but are resisting quota cuts. Angola quit the group in 2024 over a disagreement about its production quotas.

(Reporting by Jana Choukeir and Nayera Abdallah;Editing by Bernadette Baum and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)