OPEC+ fell short of its planned oil production increase in May

According to the OPEC+ monthly report, eight member states involved in the current agreement increased oil production by just 154,000 barrels per day (bpd) last month, which is below the planned 411,000 bpd target. This shortfall resulted from compensatory cuts by Iraq, the UAE and Russia to offset their previous quota violations.

Nevertheless, the combined oil output from these eight nations exceeded their monthly target by nearly 400,000 bpd due to Kazakhstan's ongoing overproduction, Bloomberg reports. The country remains the agreement's primary violator despite cutting production by 21,000 bpd in May.

Saudi Arabia previously pushed OPEC and its allies to accelerate their planned oil production revival. The kingdom aims to reclaim its market share lost during years of supply cuts. Under the agreement, the Middle Eastern state increased its crude output by 177,000 bpd to 9.183 million bpd.

Iraq reduced its oil output by 49,000 bpd in May to 3.93 million bpd, while Russia maintained production at current levels to compensate for prior quota breaches, Bloomberg notes.