OPEC+ Decisions on Crude Oil: There is now going to be a brake on oil purchases from Russia, which supplied cheap crude oil to India amid the Ukraine war. Due to US sanctions, Indian companies have decided to stop purchasing crude oil from two major Russian oil companies for the time being. Meanwhile, the decisions taken in the recent meeting of OPEC Plus, a group of oil producing countries, have further increased India’s concerns.

Two big decisions of OPEC Plus

According to the New York Times report, OPEC Plus countries took two important decisions in the meeting held on Sunday – daily oil production will be increased by 1.37 lakh barrels from December 2025. However, this increase is very minor compared to global demand. There will be a complete brake on production growth in the first quarter (January–March) of the year 2026. This means that there will be no increase in production during this period and the market situation will be closely monitored.

Difficulties may increase for India

OPEC Plus is an alliance of 22 major oil producing countries of the world, which has a major impact on global oil production and prices. If production remains limited, international prices of crude oil may increase. For India, which imports about 85% of its oil requirements, the import bill is set to rise. Due to this, there is a possibility of increase in both fiscal deficit and inflation. Also, due to increase in demand for dollar, pressure on rupee may also increase.

America has recently imposed new sanctions on two major Russian oil companies, due to which India has had to stop the purchase of cheap Russian crude oil. Now Indian companies are preparing to source crude oil from alternative suppliers – like Saudi Arabia, Iraq and UAE, but the prices there are relatively high.

According to experts, if OPEC Plus limits the increase in production and reduces imports from Russia, then in the coming months India may see an increase in petrol and diesel prices, increase in inflation and weakening of the rupee.

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Crude oil prices: OPEC+ is going to increase the supply of oil from the month of August. Its 8 members have agreed to increase the supply of crude oil by 548,000 barrels per day. Earlier, OPEC had announced an increase of 411,000 barrels in the supply of crude oil in May, June and July. The purpose of this decision of OPEC+ is to fulfill the increasing demand as well as reduce the prices of crude oil.

The impact of this decision of OPEC+ will be seen in markets around the world. Oil prices in India can also be reduced. India imports a large part of its oil needs and OPEC is a major supplier. Recently, countries involved in OPEC+ decided to increase their production before August.

India will benefit greatly

Experts say that sudden increase in oil production may reduce prices further. This can also provide relief in the prices of petrol, diesel and other petroleum products in India. Now it is obvious that if the prices of oil are low, then the general public of the country will get the benefit. This will affect the prices of transport and everyday things. This can also strengthen the country’s economy, because the import bill will decrease.

What is OPEC and OPEC+?

OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Country) is an organization of 14 countries exporting petroleum, including Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Venezuela, Libya, Indonesia, Qatar, Algeria, Nigeria, UAE, Equatorial Gaana, Congo, Angola, Ecquore and Gabon. It was established in 1960. At the same time, OPEC+ includes non-OPEC countries like Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Russia, Mexico, Oman and Sudan. It was formed in 2016.

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