OPEC-plus agrees on 2 million-barrel-a-day cut to output limit

OPEC-plus agrees on 2 million-barrel-a-day cut to output limit

Subject: International relations

Context: The OPEC+ alliance of oil-exporting countries on Wednesday decided to sharply cut production to support sagging oil prices, a move that could deal the struggling global economy another blow and raise politically sensitive pump prices for U.S. drivers just ahead of key national elections.

Concept:

• The non-OPEC countries which export crude oil are termed as OPEC Plus countries. OPEC Plus countries include Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Russia, South Sudan and Sudan.
• The OPEC and non-OPEC producers first formed the alliance at a historic meeting in Algiers in 2016.
• OPEC’s 14 members control 35 percent of global oil supplies in addition to the 82 percent of proven reserves.
• The addition of 10 Non-OPEC countries as OPEC+ including various important countries like Russia, Mexico and Kazakhstan, the share has increased to 55 percent and 90 percent of the holdings respectively. This provides OPEC+ a greater level of influence over the world economy than OPEC countries.