US President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman in Riyadh
OPEC++, the sequel, has arrived
It is time to acknowledge that the US-Saudi Arabia nexus is driving a fundamental shift in OPEC strategy
There are many layers to the current oil alliance. This complexity may be unwieldly, but the greater flexibility and market share is ultimately a strength, with producers in different subsets of OPEC, OPEC+ and the ‘voluntary’ group of eight. On top of this there is the ultimate partnership driving the current strategy: Saudi Arabia and the US. After several years of deeper and deeper production cuts, the oil pact has pivoted. The eight OPEC+ producers—Algeria, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Oman, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the UAE—began unwinding some of their additional output cuts earlier this year, returning some of the 2.2m b/d layer of supply to the market. This inner circle started to increa
Also in this section
7 January 2026
No longer can the energy source be considered a sidekick to oil in the Middle East and neither should it step aside for less convincing alternatives
7 January 2026
The global race for critical minerals has become a defining feature of energy geopolitics, presenting the ASEAN region with both opportunity and risk
7 January 2026
As global energy systems evolve to meet shifting demand and transition pressures, maintaining reliable hydrocarbon supply remains essential to energy security
6 January 2026
Cash will be needed to boost production by 30% to meet region’s rapidly rising power demand, executives told the inaugural Middle East Gas Conference in December
