London/Kuwait — Oil cartel Opec has agreed to boost oil production, achieving a last-minute compromise that overcame Iran’s threats to veto any supply hike. "We have an agreement" to make a 1-million barrel per day (bpd) adjustment, on paper, to the production cuts implemented by the group in co-operation with allies including Russia, Saudi Arabia’s energy minister Khalid al-Falih told reporters in Vienna. In reality, the accord adds 600,000 bpd of oil to the market, about 0.5% of global supply, because several members are unable to raise output, said a delegate. The new deal would effectively roll back the deeper-than-intended cuts from nations such as Venezuela, returning the curbs to the level originally agreed in 2016, the delegate said. The accord is a much-needed show of unity from Opec and allies, including Russia. An agreement was in doubt after Iranian oil minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh walked out of a meeting on Thursday evening, predicting that Opec wouldn’t be able to co...
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