Another heave for Opec
Opec must extend its deal or face another sell-off. Then it needs to find an exit strategy
A consensus in the market has taken shape. Supply and demand "balance" is in sight—not imminent, but cuts and oil-demand growth are doing their job. The assumption, endorsed by sources in Opec, is that the cuts need one more effort to finish the job. That means extending them beyond April 2018, their current deadline, possibly to the end of the year. Saudi Arabia and Russia—the only two parties to the Opec-non-Opec deal that matter—are understood to favour this. The plan, say people familiar with the negotiations, may be announced in Vienna on 30 November. Don't be mistaken, though. Opec is in a bind. The language around the cuts over the past year has been about reaching some point of balan
Also in this section
9 January 2026
OPEC+ remains on track as output falls, with only Gabon failing to hit its output targets in December, although Kazakhstan’s compliance was involuntary
9 January 2026
The Latin American producer’s crude prospects rely on a multi-pronged approach where even the relatively easy wins will take considerable time, effort and cost
9 January 2026
While many forecasters are reasserting the importance of oil and gas, petrostates should be under no illusion things are changing, and faster than they might think
8 January 2026
Indonesia and Malaysia are at the dawn of breathtaking digital capabilities. Their energy infrastructure must keep up with their ambitions
