7 OPEC+ countries agree to expand monthly oil production modestly as
prices slide
[July 06, 2026] By
WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS
NEW YORK (AP) — A handful of countries in the OPEC+ oil-producing
alliance plan to increase their outputs modestly next month, which would
bring more oil online after fuel prices have fallen to levels not seen
since before the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies —
collectively known as OPEC+ — announced on Sunday that seven countries
would expand oil production by a combined total of 188,000 barrels per
day in August. It was the fifth consecutive month OPEC+ agreed to raise
oil outputs.
The participating countries in Sunday's decision are Saudi Arabia,
Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman.
“The countries will continue to monitor and assess market conditions,
and in their continuous efforts to support market stability, they
reaffirmed the importance of adopting a cautious approach,” the group of
oil producers said in a statement.
In the last month, market optimism caused crude oil prices to tumble
before and after the U.S. and Iran reached an interim deal to end their
fighting. As part of a broader memorandum of understanding, Iran agreed
to allow ships to pass unimpeded through the Strait of Hormuz, and the
U.S. agreed to end its blockade of Iran's ports.
More and more commercial vessels have since transited the strait, which
before the war was a conduit for roughly a fifth of the world's oil. But
ship traffic remains below pre-war levels, and tensions over the
waterway continue. Iran’s joint military command warned as recently as
Thursday that all oil tankers moving through the strait must use its
approved routes or face a “forceful response."
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Storage tanks are seen at the North Jiddah bulk plant, an Aramco oil
facility, in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, on March 21, 2021. (AP Photo/Amr
Nabil, File)
 Oil prices have continued to decline
while negotiators for Iran and the U.S. try to reach a final peace
agreement. Brent crude, the international benchmark, was going for
under $72 a barrel when shortly after commodities trading opened
Sunday night. That's close to what it cost before the U.S. and
Israel launched strikes on Iran in late Feburary — and far below
soaring prices that in March climbed to nearly $120 per barrel.
The war created an energy crisis in much of the world. With most
shipping blocked in the Strait of Hormuz, the limited production
hikes pledged by OPEC+ in previous months could not counteract the
impact on global oil supplies.
Early in the war, many major oil producers across the Middle East
had to cut production because their crude had no where to go. S&P
Global Energy said in a recent estimate that it did not expect Gulf
oil production to rebound fully until at least the first quarter of
2027.
Energy experts have repeatedly warned that fuel prices and the cost
of consumer good were likely to stay elevated long past the
conflict's end.
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