Oil alliance ready for question it long avoided: True capacity

THE GROUP MEETS AMID DOUBTS OVER MEMBERS' REAL PRODUCTION LIMITS

- BY JUSTIN VARGHESE

The Opec+ alliance is preparing for another round of meetings, and once again, the same complicated question hangs over the table: how much oil can its members actually pump - not on paper, but in steady, real-world production?

It's an issue the group has tried to sidestep for years because the answers tend to expose political sensitivities and technical shortcomings. Yet this year, Opec+ put the matter front and centre. In May, the alliance began a formal reassessment of each member's "maximum sustainable capacity," the level of output a country can maintain over time without damaging reservoirs or relying on short-term boosts.

Inflated claims, consequences