OPEC is ramping up production as the world moves away from Russian fuel.

As both a means of directly punishing them and to prevent additional funding from going into their war effort, the world’s nations have been making collective efforts to distance themselves from Russian oil as they continue their invasion of Ukraine. This week, for instance, the EU officially announced a ban on approximately 2/3 of Russian oil imports, only allowing countries with high need of the fuel to continue purchasing it. However, as Russia accounts for a large portion of the world’s oil trade, these moves have caused global gas prices to skyrocket.

In an effort to soothe these rising prices, OPEC and its collaborators announced today that they will be ramping up production of oil this summer in order to fill the hole left by Russian oil. Between July and August, OPEC is looking to produce approximately 648,000 barrels per day, an almost complete reversal of the production cuts that came about at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The OPEC oil cartel and allied producing countries including Russia will raise production by 648,000 barrels per day in July and August, offering modest relief for a global economy suffering from soaring energy prices and the resulting inflation. https://t.co/OqvPtm4Td4

— The Associated Press (@AP) June 2, 2022

The reception to the announcement has been generally positive, with the United States in particular adding that it will be ramping up its own oil production as well. “We recognize the role of Saudi Arabia as the chair of OPEC+ and its largest producer in achieving this consensus amongst the group members,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement, adding that the “United States will continue to use all tools at [its] disposal to address energy prices pressures.”