Early Monday, oil prices experienced a decline as members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) prepared for their upcoming meeting. Originally scheduled for the weekend, the meeting has now been moved to Thursday and will be conducted online rather than in person.
Nigeria and Angola have been advocating for a higher output allowance, leading to the rescheduling of the meeting. In June, both countries were granted lower allowances after failing to meet their quotas due to insufficient pumping capabilities.
It is widely expected that OPEC will extend production cuts, either at this meeting or in the near future. Saudi Arabia and Russia have already voluntarily reduced output beyond what is required by OPEC quotas in order to keep global prices elevated.
While an agreement is still anticipated by Thursday, this recent disagreement highlights the challenges faced by the bloc in satisfying all its members. While higher prices benefit all oil producers, countries are also keen on maximizing their revenues by selling as much oil as possible.
The international benchmark, Brent crude, experienced a 0.6% decrease and settled at $80.07 per barrel. It momentarily dipped below $80 during the night. The U.S. standard, West Texas Intermediate, fell by 0.8% to $74.90 per barrel. Both contracts have declined approximately 7% this year.