New Delhi, May 22 -- OPEC members are discussing making a third consecutive oil production surge in July, to be decided at the group's meeting in just over a week, delegates said.

An output hike of 411,000 barrels a day for July - triple the amount initially planned - is among options under discussion, although no final agreement has yet been reached, said the delegates, asking not to be named because the information is private. A final decision is due to be taken at a gathering on June 1.

The cartel has helped sink crude prices since announcing 411,000-barrel hikes for May and June - equivalent to about 1% of current OPEC output - in a historic break with years of defending oil markets. Oil made a fresh plunge on Thursday, dropping 0.9...