Oil gains over 1% as OPEC+ maintains production policy

Oil drilling rigs

Oil prices rose today, May 28, driven by OPEC+ decision to keep its production policy unchanged and as the US banned Chevron from exporting Venezuelan crude.

Brent crude futures for July delivery rose 1.26%, or 81 cents, to settle at $64.90 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for July delivery added 1.56%, or 95 cents, to $61.84 a barrel.

OPEC+ ministers maintained the group’s production policy unchanged during an online meeting today and agreed to task the OPEC Secretariat with developing a mechanism to assess the maximum production capacity of each member state through 2027.

This helped calm investor concerns about the global oversupply of black gold, but all eyes are on a meeting of eight members of the alliance next Saturday, amid speculation they will agree to accelerate the pace of supply increases in July.

Separately, Reuters quoted informed sources as saying that the administration of US President Donald Trump has issued a new license to Chevron, allowing it to retain its assets in Venezuela but restricted it from oil export or expanding its activities in the country.