Opec expected to roll over production ceiling
Cartel likely to focus on El-Badri's successor rather than on changing output quotas
When the biggest excitement around an Opec meeting is about a technocratic appointment to head the group’s secretariat, oil traders can rest easy. Opec meets in Vienna on 12 December with oil consistently trading within a price range that should satisfy both the group’s price hawks — Algeria, Iran, Iraq and Venezuela — and the doves of the Gulf, led by Saudi Arabia. That suggests the group will roll over its 30 million barrel a day (b/d) production ceiling tomorrow. Any efforts — possibly led by Iran — to persuade Opec to lower the ceiling will be rejected by Saudi Arabia, the group’s lynchpin. The Kingdom has spent the past eight months insisting that prices should ease back towards $100/b
Also in this section
19 January 2026
Newfound optimism is emerging that a dormant exploration frontier could become a strategic energy play and—whisper it quietly—Europe’s next offshore opportunity
16 January 2026
The country’s global energy importance and domestic political fate are interlocked, highlighting its outsized oil and gas powers, and the heightened fallout risk
16 January 2026
The global maritime oil transport sector enters 2026 facing a rare convergence of crude oversupply, record newbuild deliveries and the potential easing of several geopolitical disruptions that have shaped trade flows since 2022
15 January 2026
Rebuilding industry, energy dominance and lower energy costs are key goals that remain at odds in 2026
