The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, says it will increase its production quotas but reduce the actual amount of oil on the global market.
OPEC agreed April 24 to reduce oil output by 2 million barrels a day. Members also pledged to try to erase the gap between what they say they will produce and the amount – significantly higher – that they are actually producing, The Associated Press reports.
The agreement sets a ceiling of 25.4 million barrels a day effective June 1. That is up 900,000 barrels from the existing target. But to meet it, members will have to cut actual production by 2 million barrels.
OPEC abandoned the existing target of 24.5 million barrels before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, when Saudi Arabia and several other members boosted output to head off a feared shortage.
The rapid end of the conflict has left them facing a surplus that drove down prices from almost $40 a barrel to $25.