OPEC+ agrees to boost output when Strait of Hormuz reopens

A group of OPEC+ members met Sunday and agreed to increase their oil output once the Strait of Hormuz is reopened. 

The plan is set to be implemented in May, and the countries said they would plan to produce an additional 206,000 barrels per day upon the waterway reopening, according to a press release. 

Eight members of OPEC+ — Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman — agreed to increase May quotas to hit the goal.

It marks an increase from April 2023, when the nations agreed to voluntarily boost production to 1.65 million barrels per day.

The slated increase is intended to boost market stability as international crude oil prices spiked 2 percent over the Easter weekend. 

Gas prices have followed trends and energy costs have also been on the rise amid the ongoing war, according to the U.S. Energy and Information Administration.

During a Monday briefing, President Trump told reporters he “can’t tell” if he’s winding things down in the Middle East or escalating them.  

However, he did promise to bomb Iran back to the “Stone Ages” if the Strait of Hormuz isn’t reopened by Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. EST.

The critical choke point is responsible for carrying a fifth of the world’s oil supply per day and has been closed to most commercial traffic since the start of the war on Feb. 28. 

International leaders including Japan and South Korea met last Thursday to discuss plans to see the strait reopened. 

The U.S. was absent from the virtual meeting initiated by the United Kingdom. 

Trump has slammed Asian countries and NATO for not intervening amid the stalemate with Iran, and he did so again Monday. 

“South Korea didn’t help us. You know who else didn’t help us? Australia didn’t help us,” the president told reporters Monday.

“You know who else didn’t help us? Japan. We’ve got 50,000 soldiers in Japan to protect them from North Korea. We have 45,000 soldiers in South Korea to protect us from Kim Jong Un, who I get along with very well,” Trump continued.

He railed against his predecessors for not blocking Pyongyang from obtaining and nuclear weapon and has previously guaranteed U.S. strikes in Iran will prevent Tehran from doing the same.