When it comes to oil production, OPEC+ made its latest announcement

On December 4, local time, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC oil producers "OPEC+" held the 34th ministerial meeting by video, deciding to maintain the production reduction target
set by the 33rd ministerial meeting.

The 33rd ministerial meeting on October 5 this year decided to reduce monthly production by 2 million barrels per day from November this year, based on August production, a reduction equivalent to 2%
of global oil demand per day.

The 34th Ministerial Meeting reaffirmed the decision made at the 10th Ministerial Meeting between OPEC and non-OPEC producers to reduce overall crude oil production and subsequent decisions
.
These include:

Production adjustment plans and monthly production adjustment mechanisms approved by the 19th and 33rd Ministerial Meetings of OPEC and non-OPEC producers;

Adjust the frequency of monthly meetings of the Joint OPEC+ Ministerial Monitoring Committee to bi-monthly intervals;

Authorize the Committee to hold additional meetings or, if necessary, request ministerial meetings between OPEC and non-OPEC producers to address market developments
.

The meeting reaffirmed the importance of
upholding comprehensive compliance and compensation mechanisms, taking advantage of the extension granted by the 33rd Ministerial Meeting between OPEC and non-OPEC producers.

The meeting also decided to hold the 35th Ministerial Meeting
between OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers on June 4, 2023.
Major oil producers said they would convene temporary ministerial meetings if necessary to respond to changes
in the crude oil market.

OPEC issued a statement after the December 4 ministerial meeting, stressing that the decision to cut production at the October meeting was purely based on market considerations
.

Infographic: A man refuels a car at a gas station in Berlin
, Germany.
Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Ren Pengfei

Due to market concerns about the world economic outlook, the decision of major oil-producing countries to cut production significantly failed to effectively support
international crude oil prices.
The price of the main contract for New York crude futures has fallen from more than $120 a barrel in June to around
$80 a barrel now.
London Brent crude oil futures prices showed a similar trend
.

On the 2nd, the European Union, the G7 and Australia announced a price cap of $60 per barrel for Russian seaborne crude oil, which brought new uncertainty
to the market.
Russia said that proposals such as restricting oil imports from Russia and setting a price cap on Russian oil can only cause oil prices to soar
like natural gas prices.

In April 2020, OPEC reached an agreement
with non-OPEC producers to cut production due to the impact of the new crown epidemic and other factors on oil demand.
Since May 2021, major oil producers have begun to gradually increase oil production
as oil demand recovers.
In September, major oil producers announced their first monthly output cut in more than a year, cutting their monthly output by 100,000 barrels
per day in October.