A meeting of eight OPEC+ countries scheduled for Thursday will focus on discussions regarding Kazakhstan's adherence to its output quota and its plans to address overproduction as the group proceeds with gradual production increases, according to two anonymous delegates. The heightened Kazakh output has caused dissatisfaction among several group members, including major producer Saudi Arabia, as per sources. OPEC+ is calling on Kazakhstan and other members to implement further cuts to offset excess production.

The purpose of the upcoming meeting is to inform Kazakhstan's new energy minister about the importance of meeting the required production levels and compensating for the surplus, stated one delegate. The delegates spoke anonymously due to the sensitivity of the issue. The Kazakh energy ministry and OPEC did not respond immediately to a request for comment from Reuters.

Last month, Kazakhstan's president appointed Erlan Akkenzhenov as the new energy minister after his predecessor assumed the leadership of the country's newly formed atomic energy agency. Eight OPEC+ members are set to boost oil output by 135,000 barrels per day in May. Both sources indicated that the group is likely to proceed with this plan, following similar statements earlier in the week.

The May output increase is part of an agreed-upon plan by Russia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Iraq, Algeria, Kazakhstan, and Oman to gradually reverse their recent output cut of 2.2 million bpd, which took effect this month. Additionally, OPEC+ has 3.65 million bpd of other output cuts in place until the end of next year.

Russia has instructed the Black Sea terminal handling Kazakhstan's oil exports to shut down two out of three moorings, a move expected to lead to a reduction in Kazakhstan's production. An OPEC+ ministerial committee, with the authority to propose production policy changes to the wider group, was initially set to meet on April 5, but it may now occur on Thursday, as suggested by a source.