Opec agrees on two step plan to raise output

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed on Wednesday to increase its official production ceiling by 500,000 barrels a day to 28m b/d from July 1, in line with current output, and to raise the quota by the same amount again as early as next month if prices remain stubbornly high.

The two-step plan ratified by Opec members could take production quotas to their highest level since the quota system began in 1987. The second stage will be left to the discretion of the Opec president, Sheikh Ahmad Fahd Al-Sabah, who may make a decision within the first 10 days of next month – a time when Opec producers decide on their next monthly export volumes to customers.