Negotiations fell apart on Tuesday when the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries failed to reach a compromise detailing production. The oil industry has been hampered for months by the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on air travel and vehicle traffic.
ADVERTISEMENT
OPEC+, which is comprised of 23 member nations and allies, is expected to prolong production cuts of 7.7 million barrels per day through at least March.
The group will meet remotely Thursday and could agree to a small production increase, The Wall Street Journal reported. The small hike, a compromise between Russia and Saudi Arabia, could amount to an additional 500,000 barrels per day, starting in January.
OPEC agreed in the spring to an increase of 2 million barrels a day at the start of 2021 after months of production cuts.
"Ministers are inching closer to a compromise that should break the impasse," Amrita Sen, Energy Aspects Ltd.'s co-founder, said. "OPEC+ officials are debating a more limited adjustment to the current deal than the proposed three-month delay."