SULAIMANI (ESTA) — OPEC+ has postponed technical meetings to later this week due to the new Omicron coronavirus variant, Reuters cited sources as saying on Sunday.
The group including OPEC members and allies including Russia delayed a meeting of their joint technical committee to Wednesday, according to Reuters.
The group was scheduled to meet on Monday.
A joint ministerial monitoring committee will meet on Thursday instead of Tuesday, the news agency said.
Reuters also said OPEC+ would meet the same day me a policy decision will likely be announced.
“We need more time to understand what this new variant is and if we need to overreact or not,” one OPEC+ source told Reuters.
OPEC+ has been releasing 400,000 barrels per day of oil per month while winding down its record cuts from last year, when it cut production by as much as 10 million bpd to address lower demand caused by the virus lockdowns.
OPEC+ has some 3.8 million bpd of cuts still in place and some analysts have suggested the group could pause with the increases after the release of stocks and possible repercussions for demand from new lockdowns to contain the new variant.
