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OPEC and others are boosting oil production as the race to catch up with the US goes on

This month’s 137,000-barrel-a-day boost is a little more modest than some expected.

10/6/25 8:41AM

Oil prices have risen a little over 1% today as the world reacts to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Russia, and other smaller producers yesterday announcing that they’d be increasing oil production by 137,000 barrels per day in November — a little less than some had anticipated.

Put crudely

That conservative hike equals the increase that the group, known as OPEC+, announced for October, as the collective balances its desire for more market share with stable prices against the backdrop of oversupply concerns in the coming months. Interestingly, sources said that Saudi Arabia, one of the eight nations involved in the new announcement, was pushing for double, triple, or even quadruple the increase, keen to increase its share of the global oil industry, while Russia apparently backed the lower rate.

Saudi officials likely had producers like Brazil, Guyana, and the US in their minds, with daily production figures for the latter continuing to climb consistently throughout 2025, even as US oil chiefs warn of the end of the US shale boom.

In July, the last month that the US Energy Information Administration published data for, America’s oil industry produced a record 13.64 million barrels a day, up by 109,000 a day from the figure for June, cementing its position as the world’s top oil producer in 2025.

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The UAE’s OPEC exit will hit the group in the barrels

After just shy of 60 years in OPEC, its membership even predating its status as a nation-state, the United Arab Emirates yesterday announced its shocking departure from the oil production group, effective May 1, as the knock-on effects of the Iran war continue to play out across the Middle East and the energy landscape.

For context, the UAE produces the third-highest amount of oil in the group, per April data and OPEC’s latest set of annual statistics.

According to the cartel’s 2025 Annual Statistical Bulletin, the OPEC group was collectively exporting some 19 million barrels of crude oil a day last year, with the United Arab Emirates accounting for some 14% of that daily output.

UAExit means UAExit

The nation, whose energy minister told Reuters yesterday that the decision was taken “after a careful look at current and future policies related to level of production” and wasn’t made following discussions with any other country, made up a healthy share of the group’s total confirmed crude oil reserves, as well.

Of the 12 nations in the core group, which was founded by just five oil superpowers back in September 1960, only two (Iraq and Saudi Arabia) exported more barrels of crude oil daily, pumping out 3.36 million and 6.05 million barrels, respectively, each day to nations around the world.

For its part, the UAE said it will “continue its responsible role by gradually and thoughtfully increasing production, in line with demand and market conditions,” per the official state news agency. Clearly, the nation now wants a little more control of just how much oil it can pump around the world, with the UAE having to eat a large proportion of lost revenues due to its healthy abundance and OPEC restrictions.