MOSCOW/LONDON, Feb 24 (Reuters) – OPEC+ will likely consider raising its oil output by 137,000 barrels per day for April to end a three-month pause in production increases, three sources with knowledge of OPEC+ thinking said, as the group prepares for peak summer demand and tensions between the U.S. and OPEC member Iran boost prices.
The resumption would allow OPEC leader Saudi Arabia and fellow members, such as the UAE, to regain market share at a time other OPEC+ members, such as Russia and Iran, contend with Western sanctions and Kazakh output is recovering from a series of setbacks.
Eight OPEC+ producers – Saudi Arabia, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Iraq, Algeria and Oman – meet on March 1.
In a separate development, top OPEC+ producer Saudi Arabia has activated a plan for a short-term oil output and export surge in case a U.S. strike on Iran disrupts oil flows from the Middle East, two sources familiar with the Saudi plan said.
OPEC and authorities in Russia and Saudi Arabia did not reply immediately to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Olesya Astakhova in Moscow and Alex Lawler and Dmitry Zhdannikov in LondonWriting by Alex LawlerEditing by Louise Heavens)
