OPEC+ is no closer to resolving the deadlock over oil-output quotas for some African members that has already forced the group to delay a critical meeting amid faltering prices, according to delegates.

The Saudi-led alliance hasn’t been able to reach an agreement with Angola and Nigeria, which are pushing back against lower quota limits for 2024 that reflect their diminished production capabilities, delegates said, asking not to be named because the information was private.

The stalemate may not be resolved before the scheduled OPEC+ meeting on Nov. 30, potentially requiring a further delay, one delegate said.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners needs to finalize output policy for 2024, with market watchers predicting that further cuts are needed as crude prices sag toward $80 a barrel on the prospect of a renewed surplus. Saudi Arabia, which has been making a voluntary output reduction of 1 million barrels a day since July, is asking other members of the coalition to reduce their quotas to share the burden of cuts.

Angola and Nigeria are disputing changes to their output targets that were provisionally agreed when OPEC+ last met in June. Those new quotas were subject to a review by external consultants and both countries were unhappy with the revised figures.

Lagos is now seeking a quota of 1.58 million barrels a day for 2024, a slight increase from the provisional level, one delegate said. Luanda is proposing 1.18 million barrels a day, which is lower than the figure agreed in June but higher than the consultants’ estimate, the delegate said.

Failure to reach consensus could be very costly for the 23-nation coalition, which relies on petroleum revenue to cover government spending.

Crude traders have largely priced in that group leaders Saudi Arabia and Russia will extend their 1.3 million barrels-a-day of additional supply curbs through the first quarter of 2024. Many are banking on even more muscular action from the wider alliance.

“With fundamentals softening and market sentiment bearish, OPEC+ may need to announce another formal cut,” analysts at Eurasia Group led by Raad Alkadiri said in a report on Monday. Anything short of a 1 million barrel-a-day reduction could send prices to the low $70s, they added.

As part of the deal agreed in June, the United Arab Emirates secured the right to increase production modestly in January in order to deploy recent capacity additions. It’s unclear whether there’s any pressure now for Abu Dhabi to relinquish that boost in order to shore up flagging markets.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is asking others in the OPEC+ coalition to reduce their oil-output quotas in a bid to shore up global markets but some members are resisting, delegates said.

The OPEC+ leader has been making a largely unilateral supply cutback of 1 million barrels a day since July, and is now seeking further support from across the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners, said the delegates, asking not to be identified because the information is private.

Brent crude pared earlier losses and was down 0.5% at $80.15 a barrel as of 4:39 p.m. in London.

The Saudi proposal comes amid difficult talks for the producers’ group, which was forced to delay its policy meeting by four days to Nov. 30 as Angola and Nigeria resist reductions to their own quota limits for 2024, which were set out at the cartel’s last conference in June.

The producers were progressing toward a compromise on this matter before the weekend, but have yet to clinch an agreement, delegates said.

The 23-nation OPEC+ alliance faces pressure to intervene in crude markets, following a 17% drop in prices over the past two months amid plentiful supplies and a darkening economic backdrop. Markets could weaken further in early 2024, when forecasters including the International Energy Agency anticipate the emergence of a new supply surplus.

“With fundamentals softening and market sentiment bearish, OPEC+ may need to announce another formal cut,” analysts at Eurasia Group led by Raad Alkadiri said in a report. Anything short of a 1 million barrel-a-day reduction could send prices to the low $70s, they added.

Saudi Arabia’s voluntary production cut of 1 million barrels a day, implemented in tandem with a 300,000 barrel-a-day export reduction from Russia, is currently set to continue until the end of the year. Most analysts expect Riyadh and Moscow to extend those curbs into 2024.

Market watchers such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. have flagged the possibility that OPEC+ may cut deeper, and some — such as Commerzbank AG and hedge fund manager Pierre Andurand — have warned that prices may buckle further if they don’t. Brent futures traded near $80 a barrel on Monday.

Supply reductions across the alliance would probably win back oil bulls, but they could be hard to orchestrate. Iraq, Russia and Kazakhstan have recently been pumping over their quotas, while others like the African members have lost so much production capacity they’re in no position to cut further.

It’s also unclear whether the United Arab Emirates, a key member, will be under pressure not to proceed with a quota increase of 200,000 barrels a day permitted from January. Abu Dhabi secured the dispensation at the last OPEC+ gathering in June, in order to finally make use of recent investments in new capacity.