The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has said it will maintain the monthly oil output, despite a proposed plan by the European Union (EU) to ban oil and gas supply from Russia.

OPEC disclosed this in a statement released at its 28th OPEC and non-OPEC ministerial meeting on Thursday.

It said it noted geopolitical factors and issues related to the ongoing pandemic as reasons for its decision.

The development came a day after the European Union announced it is proposing to ban all oil imports from Russia by the end of the year.

On Wednesday, European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, announced that European Union countries would stop importing Russian oil in the next six months as part of sanctions for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

On Thursday, OPEC said it decided to reaffirm the decision of the 10th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting on April 12, 2020 and further endorsed it in subsequent meetings, including the 19th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting on July 18, 2021.

“Following the conclusion of the 28th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting, held via video conference on 5th May, it was noted that continuing oil market fundamentals and the consensus on the outlook pointed to a balanced market. It further noted the continuing effects of geopolitical factors and issues related to the ongoing pandemic”, the oil cartel said.

“The OPEC and participating non-OPEC oil-producing countries, therefore, decided to:

“Reconfirm the production adjustment plan and the monthly production adjustment mechanism approved at the 19th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting and the decision to adjust upward the monthly overall production by 0.432 mb/d for the month of June 2022, as per the attached schedule.

“Reiterate the critical importance of adhering to full conformity and to the compensation mechanism, taking advantage of the extension of the compensation period until the end of June 2022. Compensation plans should be submitted in accordance with the statement of the 15th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting”, it said.