Russia has reduced its crude oil production by 700,000 bpd in March, a person familiar with Russian Energy Ministry figures told Bloomberg.
Russia warned in February that it would cut crude oil production in the sanctioned nation by 500,000 bpd. At the time, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said the decreased production was due to the EU import bans and price caps on the nation’s products. Initially, Novak said the cuts would be for March only. But 2/3rds of the way through March, Novak updated the timeline, saying the cut would be extended.
Russia said its crude oil and fuel exports had been completely redirected as of late March, with seaborne crude exports falling just 123,000 bpd, but remaining above 3 million bpd, according to Bloomberg tanker tracking data.
While exports remained strong, Russia is now saying its production cuts were significantly higher than promised.
The 500,000 bpd promised cuts were supposed to be taken off February as the baseline, making the total target production 10.1 million bpd. But according to Bloomberg sources, the Energy Ministry data shows Russia produced an average of 1.285 million tons of crude oil per day in March, or 9.4 million barrels without condensate, or 10.36 million bpd with condensate. Russia’s February production, including condensate, stood at 11.1 million bpd.
In 2021, Russia’s oil and condensate production reached 10.5 million bpd.
This means Russia cut between 700,000 bpd and 740,000 bpd—a significant increase over the stated 500,000 bpd.
But with export figures holding steady, the integrity of the production data is called into question. Russia classified its oil production data last year following its invasion of Ukraine.
Russia relies heavily on revenues from oil and gas, getting more than 40% of its revenue from those sources.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
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