OPEC Plus to Boost Oil Production as Ceasefire in Iran Remains Elusive

The cartel of influential oil-producing nations known as OPEC Plus on Sunday agreed to increase production by 188,000 barrels per day in July as the United States and Iran struggled to reach an agreement to end the war and fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz.The move was the latest pledge in recent months by the group, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, to step up output.In normal times, an increase by OPEC Plus countries would help push prices lower.

But the effective shutdown of the strait has stranded a vast portion of the world’s daily oil supply, making the increase largely symbolic.“The countries will continue to closely monitor and assess market conditions,” the consortium of oil-producing nations said in a statement, and noted “the importance of adopting a cautious approach.” The decision followed a meeting, conducted remotely, of the OPEC Plus countries, which include Algeria, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Oman, Russia and Saudi Arabia.The war in the Middle East, which started with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb.28, followed by Iran’s closure of the strait in retaliation, has sent oil and gas prices soaring, stoked worldwide fears of inflation and left countries scrambling for alternative energy supplies.Ships transiting the strait, a narrow route to the Persian Gulf on Iran’s southern border, had ferried about one-fifth of the world’s energy supply before the war.

In response to the waterway’s effective shutdown, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait have been forced to slash crude production.The conflict has not only rocked the global economy but also tested political relations in the Persian Gulf.In May, the Emirates decided to leave OPEC, dealing a blow to the Saudi Arabia-led oil cartel.

The Emirates, which was the third-largest OPEC oil producer with capacity to drill more, had for many years expressed dissatisfaction with the group’s production quotas.We are having trouble retrieving the art...