OPEC+ may ramp up oil production in H2 2024: Report

UK-based energy research firm FGE expects that OPEC+ will get a firmer grip on the oil market in 2024 and may ramp up production in the second half of the year. 

The market will remain balanced to start the new year as the OPEC+ output targets stay unchanged, FGE analysts said in a note. 

Th new OPEC+ production target will hover around 37.1 million barrels a day in the first quarter of the year, they predicted. 

“In short, OPEC+ has cut just the right amount of production to keep the market balanced in H1 2024 and, if the group can maintain cohesion over the next six months, it will be in a good position to raise output targets in H2 2024,” the analysts said. 

FGE said some headwinds could bring Brent crude, the international benchmark, below $70 a barrel in the near term.  

However, prices are expected to hover in the $75-$80 a barrel range by the end of the second quarter of 2024.