LONDON, (Reuters) – OPEC+ likely will stick to the February oil output increase for February. However sources claim that the Omicron coronavirus variant of OPEC+ has a limited impact on demand.

OPEC+ is a grouping of producers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries with other countries, including Russia. Since August, OPEC+ has increased its monthly output goal by 400,000 barrels per daily (bpd)

The company is reducing record-high production reductions of 10,000,000 bpd, which were made to assist the market following the pandemic.

The current plan would allow it to increase the February target by another 400,000 bpd, with approximately 3 million bpd remaining in September cuts as per an agreement made last July.

Reuters saw a technical document from OPEC+ on Sunday that reduced the effect of the Omicron variation on oil demand.

The Joint Technical Committee (JTC), report stated that “The effect… will be mild and brief-lived as the world becomes more equipped to handle COVID-19, and related challenges.”

It added that this is “in addition to a stable economic outlook in both advanced and emerging economies.”

Despite OPEC+ increasing its monthly output goal, the actual production hasn’t kept up with it as members face capacity limitations.

According to the International Energy Agency, (IEA), OPEC+ producers fell short of their goals by 730,000 bpd and 650,000 bpd respectively in October and November. [IEA/M] Graphic: Oil market balances in 2022, https://graphics.reuters.com/OIL-OPEC/klvykqgezvg/chart.png