OPEC+ cut oil supply by 0.5% in December

The OPEC+ oil alliance, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, produced an average of 42.83 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude in December, cutting output by 238,000 bpd, or 0.5%, from November levels.

That was shown in the monthly report published by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which is based in Vienna.

According to figures calculated using estimates from independent sources, Kazakhstan was by far the country that reduced output the most, pumping 1.5 million bpd, or 237,000 bpd less than in the previous month.

It was followed by Russia, with output of 9.3 million bpd, down 73,000 bpd, and Venezuela, with 896,000 bpd, down 60,000 bpd.

Those cuts were offset by increases from other members of the alliance, which opened the taps in line with the latest agreed output hike that took effect on December 1.

Among them, Saudi Arabia stood out with production of 10.07 million bpd, up 27,000 bpd, and Iraq with 4.12 million bpd, up 55,000 bpd.

Both countries are among the so-called “eight” that began in April to gradually unwind, month by month, the voluntary production cuts introduced in 2023 to support prices.

Through December, they agreed on monthly increases totaling 2.9 million bpd, equivalent to about 2.8% of global output.

The alliance thus made a strategic shift, accepting lower prices to regain market share lost due to the cuts.

However, amid a sharp drop in prices—both Brent crude and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) ended 2025 with their largest percentage losses since 2020, at around 20%—OPEC+ decided to pause the increases and keep production steady in January, February and March of this year.