OPEC+ meeting postponement prompted by disagreements in estimates of Angola, Nigeria production - sources

MOSCOW. Nov 23 (Interfax) - The postponement of the OPEC+ ministerial meeting from November 26 to November 30 is due to disagreements over the production levels of two African OPEC member countries - Nigeria and Angola, several sources familiar with the situation told Interfax.

According to one of the sources, Angola's production caused the biggest disagreement.

At the previous OPEC+ meeting, the ministers agreed to adjust the level of oil production from January 1 to December 31, 2024 to 40.46 million barrels per day.

At the same time, it was reported that by the end of June 2024, all OPEC+ member countries will undergo an assessment by three independent sources (IHS, Wood Mackenzie and Rystad Energy) to determine the countries' production capacity to be used for the baseline production level for 2025. The OPEC Secretariat will coordinate the assessment while maintaining the independence of the three sources.

"Angola's stated production target for 2024 of 1.28 million bpd is subject to verification by the three aforementioned sources at the next OPEC+ ministerial meeting to be held towards the end of 2023 and, if confirmed, will be maintained," OPEC reported.

It was also suggested that by the end of 2023, the required production levels for Congo and Nigeria could be updated to the average production level that could be reached in 2024, as estimated by three independent sources. It is noted that Nigeria's stated production target for 2024 is 1.578 million bpd and also needs to be confirmed.

According to the OPEC report, in October, Angola produced 1.172 million bpd, Nigeria - 1.416 million bpd.