OPEC Receives Updated Compensation Plans from 4 Countries

A statement posted on OPEC’s website last week announced that the OPEC Secretariat had received updated compensation plans from Iraq, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kazakhstan, and Oman.

A table accompanying this statement showed that these compensation plans amount to a total of 267,000 barrels per day in December 2025, 415,000 barrels per day in January 2026, 708,000 barrels per day in February, 710,000 barrels per day in March, 810,000 barrels per day in April, 831,000 barrels per day in May, and 829,000 barrels per day in June.

According to the table, Iraq’s compensation plans amount to 120,000 barrels per day in both December 2025 and January 2026, 115,000 barrels per day in both February and March, 101,000 barrels per day in April, and 100,000 barrels per day in both May and June.

Kazakhstan’s compensation plans come in at 131,000 barrels per day in December, 279,000 barrels per day in January, 569,000 barrels per day in both February and March, 650,000 barrels per day in April, and 669,000 barrels per day in both May and June, the table showed.

The UAE’s compensation plans amount to 10,000 barrels per day in both December and January, 20,000 barrels per day in both February and April, 54,000 barrels per day in both March and May, and 55,000 barrels per day in June, according to the table, which showed that Oman’s compensation plans come in at 6,000 barrels per day in both December and January, 4,000 barrels per day in February, 6,000 barrels per day in March, 5,000 barrels per day in April, 8,000 barrels in May, and 5,000 barrels per day in June.

“As agreed during the virtual meeting held by the eight countries with additional voluntary adjustments, including Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman on 30 November 2025, the OPEC Secretariat received updated compensation plans,” the statement noted.

A statement posted on OPEC’s website on January 4 revealed that, in a meeting held on that day, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman “reaffirmed their decision on 2 November 2025 to pause production increments in February and March 2026 due to seasonality”. 

According to a table accompanying that statement, “required production” in February and March this year is 10.103 million barrels per day for Saudi Arabia, 9.574 million barrels per day for Russia, 4.273 million barrels per day for Iraq, 3.411 million barrels per day for the UAE, 2.580 million barrels per day for Kuwait, 1.569 million barrels per day for Kazakhstan, 971,000 barrels per day for Algeria, and 811,000 barrels per day for Oman.

That statement highlighted that the eight OPEC+ countries, “which previously announced additional voluntary adjustments in April and November 2023”, met virtually on January 4 “to review global market conditions and outlook”. It said the eight participating countries “reiterated that the 1.65 million barrels per day may be returned in part or in full subject to evolving market conditions and in a gradual manner”.

“The countries will continue to closely monitor and assess market conditions, and in their continuous efforts to support market stability, they reaffirmed the importance of adopting a cautious approach and retaining full flexibility to continue pausing or reverse the additional voluntary production adjustments, including the previously implemented voluntary adjustments of the 2.2 million barrels per day announced in November 2023,” the statement said.

“The eight countries reiterated their collective commitment to achieve full conformity with the Declaration of Cooperation, including the additional voluntary production adjustments that will be monitored by the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee,” it added.

“They also confirmed their intention to fully compensate for any overproduced volume since January 2024,” it continued.

The statement went on to note that the eight OPEC+ countries will hold monthly meetings “to review market conditions, conformity, and compensation”, adding that the eight countries will meet on February 1.

Another statement posted on OPEC’s website on November 30 revealed that, in a meeting held that day, the eight OPEC+ countries “reaffirmed their decision on November 2, 2025, to pause production increments in January, February, and March 2026 due to seasonality”. 

A separate statement posted on OPEC’s website on November 30 highlighted that the 40th OPEC and non-OPEC ministerial meeting took place that day. That statement outlined that the participating countries decided to “reaffirm the Framework of the Declaration of Cooperation, signed on 10 December 2016 and further endorsed in subsequent meetings” and “reiterate the critical importance of adhering to full conformity and the compensation mechanism”. 

They also decided to “reaffirm the level of overall crude oil production for OPEC and non-OPEC Participating Countries in the DoC as agreed in the 38th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting until 31 December 2026” and “reaffirm the mandate of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) to closely review global oil market conditions, oil production levels, and the level of conformity with the DoC, assisted by the OPEC Secretariat,” that statement outlined.

“In reference to the decision of the 39th ONOMM; mandating the OPEC Secretariat to develop a mechanism to assess participating countries’ maximum sustainable production capacity (MSC) to be used as reference for the 2027 production baselines for all DoC countries, the Participating Countries approved the mechanism developed by the Secretariat,” that statement went on to note.

This OPEC statement also revealed that the countries decided to “reaffirm the framework of the Charter of Cooperation (CoC), signed on 2 July 2019, and request the OPEC Secretariat to develop a plan and convert it into programs to achieve the full objectives of the CoC, as it was originally mandated, and present it to the 41st OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting”. 

The 41st OPEC and Non-OPEC ministerial meeting is scheduled to take place on June 7, 2026, according to that statement.

OPEC’s website states that, “in accordance with its Statute, the mission of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is to coordinate and unify the petroleum policies of its Member Countries and ensure the stabilization of oil markets in order to secure an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consumers, a steady income to producers and a fair return on capital for those investing in the petroleum industry”.

To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com