Russia's crude oil production came in at 11.231 million barrels per day in November, and the country will use this figure as reference for all potential agreements with OPEC, Russia's deputy energy minister Kirill Molodtsov said at a Lukoil conference on Friday.
"Russia has, as was said by Alexander Novak, has stopped at the frontier that we have reached, the peak. The average daily oil production for November stands at 11.231 million barrels. In this sense, all agreements will be formed around this figure that we have reached in November," Sputnik quoted Molodtsov as saying.
Russia's energy ministry and Russian companies are actively working on drafting the country's final position regarding joining an OPEC cut and work would continue until December 9, Molodtsov noted.
Russia and other non-OPEC producers are expected to meet on December 9 to discuss and possibly agree to joining OPEC cuts. The meeting is expected to take place in Doha, Qatar.
On Wednesday, OPEC reached an agreement to cut, effective in January, collective output to 32.5 million bpd, which is around 1.2 million bpd down from October levels. The deal to cut production in order to prop up prices is contingent on non-OPEC producers, including Russia, cutting a combined 600,000 bpd. Russia is expected to cut 300,000 bpd of that figure.
Related: Winners And Losers Of The OPEC Deal
Yesterday, Russia's Energy Minister Alexander Novak said that all Russian oil companies are on board with the 300,000-bpd cut agreed by Moscow as part of OPEC's efforts to prop up oil prices through a production cut.
Russia's November crude output, which Molodtsov announced today, is even higher than the October production of 11.2 million bpd, which was a new post-Soviet era high.
Russia's increased production in recent months may not only be because it can, but also to possibly hedge against agreeing to a 'cut' and joining an OPEC deal to lift crude oil prices.
By Tsvetana Paraskova by Oilprice.com
More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Tsvetana is a writer for Oilprice.com with over a decade of experience writing for news outlets such as iNVEZZ and SeeNews. More
Comments