The Alliance held a face-to-face meeting for the first time since March 2020, as all previous meetings were online. It is not yet clear whether Russia will send its representatives.

   Brent oil price in 1 day intervals

OPEC+ plans to hold its first face-to-face meeting since March 2020 next week to assess the need to cut oil production to prevent further price declines. The 23-nation alliance, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, is scheduled to meet Wednesday at its headquarters in Vienna, the OPEC secretariat said in a statement. Not all countries can send representatives due to short notice, delegates said privately.

The group met online on a monthly basis and was not expected to arrange a face-to-face meeting until at least the end of this year.

Brent oil soared above $125 a barrel after the conflict between Russia and Ukraine broke out in February. Since then, the price has fallen to $85 as central banks raise interest rates to fight inflation, major economies (US, China) slow down, curbing price rallies amid slowing demand worries.

Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. said OPEC+ may need to cut production by at least 500,000 bpd to stabilize prices.

Helima Croft, chief commodities strategist at RBC Capital Markets, said the group could approve twice the cut.

The news about the face-to-face meeting of OPEC + appeared after the United States imposed sanctions against, among other things, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, who oversees energy. The EU is expected to impose new sanctions of its own, although it is not clear if they will target Russians.

In 2016, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which includes 13 countries, entered into a partnership known as OPEC+ with 10 other major producers, including Russia. Saudi Arabia is keen to maintain that relationship, which it says is critical to stabilizing oil markets despite pressure from the US and Europe to isolate Russia.

OPEC+ underlined its readiness to stabilize the market with a symbolic contraction at the previous meeting on September 5th. Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman vowed the same day to remain „proactive and proactive” in addressing extreme price volatility.