Saudi Arabia, which leads the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), may quickly ramp up production this spring, following the recent momentum in oil prices and its own expectations for increased demand in the second half of 2021.

It would mark a stark shift from its current stance.

OPEC and its allies, aka OPEC-plus, this month maintained lower near-term production targets. The cartel had previously called for its members to keep supply levels steady this month, with the exception of leader Saudi Arabia. The kingdom agreed to voluntarily trim output by 1.0 million b/d in February and March to further align global supply with demand that has been under pressure from pandemic fallout.

Saudi Arabia, however, is preparing a plan to reverse course in April...