OPEC considers a cut to the group’s output limits of 2 million barrels day

The recommendation from the cartel’s Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee will be discussed by ministers later on Wednesday before they make a final policy decision, delegates said, asking not to be named because the information is private.

If the full meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies ratify the proposal, it would have a smaller impact on global supply than the headline number suggests because several countries are already pumping well below their quotas. That means they would already be in compliance with their new limits without having to reduce production.

A reduction of 2 million barrels a day in the group’s output target, shared pro rata, would require just eight countries to reduce actual production and would deliver a real cut of only 880,000 barrels a day, according to Bloomberg calculations based on September output figures.

(source:Bloomberg)