Strategy v market dynamics
Members must consider a host of complex issues as they wrestle with the problem of managing oil supply
Opec production has fallen from 32.9m barrels a day in July 2017 to approximately 31.8m b/d in May this year. The decline has been driven by both intentional cuts (particularly from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE) and unintentional ones (Venezuela and Angola). The market is rightly focusing its eyes on Venezuela. The country lost almost 1m b/d of production since 2016, with exports set to suffer further in the coming months. ConocoPhillips' seizure of PdV's storage and loading assets in Netherlands Antilles increases reliance on its already congested domestic ports. For Angola, its heavy weighting of deep-water production makes it particularly vulnerable to further declines. With Opec itse
Also in this section
10 March 2026
From Venezuela to Hormuz, the US—backed by the most powerful military force ever assembled—is redrawing not only oil and gas flows but also the global balance of energy power
10 March 2026
By shutting the Strait of Hormuz, Iran has cut exports of distillate-rich Middle Eastern crude, jet fuel and diesel, and is holding the energy market hostage
10 March 2026
Eni’s director for global gas and LNG portfolio, Cristian Signoretto, discusses how demand will respond to rising LNG supply, and how the company is expanding its own gas and LNG operations through disciplined, capital-efficient investments
9 March 2026
Petroleum Economist analysis sees increases in output from Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Kazakhstan among others before region’s murky descent
