Paper Quotas and Chokepoint Realities: The Real Story Behind the Latest OPEC+ Output Shift
By: Robert Sterling – SeaPRwire – The market treats the latest OPEC+ video conference like a massive chess move. I see a group of producers shouting into a void while the real action happens downstream. Seven members of the alliance just confirmed a paper production increase of 188,000 barrels per day. Saudi Arabia and Russia anchor this shift with 62,000 barrels per day each. Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman endorse the remainder. The headline looks like a major supply expansion. It marks the fifth consecutive monthly increase. It pushes cumulative additions toward 800,000 barrels per day since the second quarter. Traders think the group is flooding the market. They see the alliance unwinding voluntary cuts made three years ago during banking instability. The United Arab Emirates already left the group this spring to chart its own path. The corporate PR machine wants you to look at quotas. The real tactical play is about pricing security and diplomatic life...