ASTANA (Reuters) – The OPEC+ group of leading oil producers is set to discuss President Donald Trump’s efforts to raise U.S. oil production and take a joint stance on the matter, Kazakhstan said on Wednesday.
Trump last week laid out a sweeping plan to help maximise oil and gas production, including by declaring a national energy emergency to speed permitting and rolling back environmental protections.
Trump has also publicly called on the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its leading member, Saudi Arabia, to lower oil prices, saying doing so would end the conflict in Ukraine.
OPEC+, which groups the de facto Saudi-led OPEC and allies including Russia and Kazakhstan, has yet to react to Trump’s call. The group already has a plan in place to start raising oil output from April, gradually unwinding previous cuts.
That plan had been delayed several times because of weak demand.
OPEC+ is due to hold a meeting of its Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee on Feb. 3.
“In the nearest future, a meeting is planned at the level of OPEC+ representatives, at which the organization’s policy regarding the current situation will be discussed, including U.S. plans to increase production volumes, and a coordinated position will be adopted,” Kazakh Energy Minister Almasadam Satkaliyev told a briefing.
OPEC+ members are currently holding back 5.86 million barrels per day of output, or about 5.7% of global demand, in a series of steps agreed since 2022 to support the market.
(Reporting by Tamara Vaal; writing by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Alex Richardson)
