De-facto OPEC leader Saudi Arabia is pushing for the 14-member oil cartel and its allied partners to increase crude production by 1 million barrels per day (bpd) this week.
Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said Thursday that the world is likely to face a large deficit of oil in the second half of 2018. A substantial production increase from OPEC would be required to prevent a market squeeze, he added.