Opec+ countries last month began the process of unwinding 2.2mn b/d of voluntary cuts, which form the outermost layer of a series of ‘voluntary’ and mandatory cuts totaling 5.85mn b/d, on paper. In reality the amount of production being held back by the group is very different, given the extent to which members’ production capacities have altered since Opec+ began implementing the cuts in November 2022.

Much has changed over the past two and a half years, and baselines reflecting 2022 capacity levels would be problematic enough, but the baselines from which most of those cuts are calculated can be traced back to October 2018; more than six years ago. (CONTINUED - 925 WORDS)

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