Oil producing countries that are members of the OPEC+ organization have agreed to increase oil production by 100,000 barrels a day starting in September, Reuters reported citing a source on Wednesday, Aug.

According to Bloomberg interlocutors, the OPEC+ countries will share the increase proportionally among themselves. Reuters calls the increase in production a “small” boost that will provide “86 seconds of global demand” and an “insult” to US President Joe Biden, who, during a trip to Saudi Arabia last month, tried to convince the leader of OPEC to increase production. At the same time, the deal could give “some relief to consumers suffering from the inflationary pressures of high oil prices,” Bloomberg writes.

“We have always said that the preferred price corridor is US$60-80 per barrel. Today the price is US$100. Therefore, we may have to increase production to avoid overheating,” said Kazakhstan’s Energy Minister Bolat. Akchulakov told reporters ahead of the OPEC+ decision.

OPEC boosts production after coronavirus

In June, countries agreed to increase their oil production quota by 648,000 barrels a day in July and August to offset the effect of lower oil demand during the coronavirus pandemic. Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s biggest oil producer, initially did not want to take this step, but in the end Riyadh agreed to avoid a shortage in the market in a situation where several countries refused to buy oil from Russia due to the war in Ukraine, wrote the Financial Times.

The OPEC+ group includes 13 members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) as well as 10 partner countries, including Russia.