The report says that OPEC+ is likely to weigh a further increase in oil production when the bloc convenes on Sunday. That so as to position themselves to add more barrels if and when the Strait of Hormuz reopens for business.

As a reminder, the bloc already agreed to a 206k bpd output boost for April when they met in March. That meeting was a bit of a tricky one with it having took place on 1 March, just as the US-Iran conflict broke out that very same weekend.

One of the sources is cited as saying that “we need to react, at least on paper” with another source saying that “the market requires every barrel that can be produced”.

As things stand, only Saudi Arabia and the UAE has some meaningful means to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. But even then, the alternatives aren’t able to significantly cover the losses from the de facto closure of the strait. From earlier: Gulf countries reportedly mulls new pipelines to bypass Strait of Hormuz

This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.