Russia Says It Is Overcomplying With OPEC Production Quota

Russia’s oil production in June was 50,000 bpd below the level Moscow had pledged under the OPEC and non-OPEC production cut agreement, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Monday, as carried by Russian news agency Interfax.  

As part of the OPEC+ production cuts between January and June, Russia is taking the lion’s share of the non-OPEC cuts and pledged to reduce production by 230,000 bpd from October’s post-Soviet record level of 11.421 million bpd, to 11.191 million bpd.

According to Novak, Russia’s production in June was 278,000 bpd lower than the reference level in October, or 50,000 bpd below its quota. 

Russia’s oil production in May was 11.15 million bpd, industry sources told Reuters earlier. This 11.15 million bpd level—a calculated figure using a tonnes to barrels conversion—is below Russia’s commitment under the OPEC+ deal. For June, Russia’s oil production is estimated at 11.13 million bpd.

The current deal between OPEC and its Russia-led non-OPEC partners expired on June 30 and the partners are meeting in Vienna on Monday and Tuesday to discuss the fate of the agreement. OPEC and allies are signaling that a nine-month extension of the cuts at their current levels is almost a foregone conclusion.  

Russia finally complied with its share of the production cuts as part of the OPEC+ deal, but not by choice. Russia’s oil production continued to trend lower in May as exports via the Druzhba oil pipeline were restricted due to a contamination issue, helping Russia to finally fall in line with the oil production cuts.

Russia’s oil production averaged 11.126 million bpd between May 1 and 26, two industry sources told Reuters. This compares to average production of 11.147 million bpd between May 1 and 21.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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