By Maha El Dahan, Olesya Astakhova and Alex Lawler

DUBAI/LONDON (Reuters) – The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies will proceed with a planned oil production increase in December, but first need to cut output to address overproduction by some members, according to two OPEC+ sources on Thursday.

The sources indicated that the plan does not represent any significant change from existing policy. This follows the Financial Times report that Saudi Arabia is committed to raising OPEC+ production on December 1, abandoning its unofficial target price of $100 a barrel to regain market share.

OPEC and Saudi Arabia have consistently denied targeting specific prices, asserting that their decisions are based on market fundamentals and aimed at balancing supply and demand.

The December output increase is aimed at a small number of countries phasing out their voluntary output cuts, one OPEC+ source mentioned.

OPEC+, which includes OPEC members and allies like Russia, is set to raise output by 180,000 barrels per day (bpd) in December. Iraq and Kazakhstan have agreed to cut 123,000 bpd in September to make up for earlier pumping that exceeded agreed levels.

"When the compensation plan and production figures from those countries become clear for September, that will allow the increment to be implemented, as the impact will be negligible," one of the sources said, alluding to the December increase.

The Saudi government communications office and OPEC's headquarters did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Currently, OPEC+ is cutting output by a total of 5.86 million bpd, equating to approximately 5.7% of global oil demand. Earlier this month, they postponed plans to boost output after oil prices dropped to a nine-month low.

The global crude benchmark, Brent, had fallen about 2.5% to below $72 a barrel as of 1420 GMT.

A committee of top ministers from OPEC+, called the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee, is slated to meet on October 2 to review the market, with no changes to policy expected.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak stated on Thursday that there are no alterations to OPEC+ plans regarding the phasing out of oil production cuts starting in December.

Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin remarked that Russia is cautious about oversaturating the market while discussing plans to increase the country's output to 540 million tons by 2030.

Iraq and Kazakhstan's cuts are categorized as compensation cuts for previous over-pumping. Additional compensation cuts are anticipated in the upcoming months, extending into 2025.

OPEC+ ministers may convene again in November, a third source indicated.