Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Tuesday that Russia will continue a 500,000 barrels per day oil production cut until the end of June.
“At the moment, Russia is close to achieving the target level of reduction — it will be reached in the coming days,” Novak said, referring to the announcement he made last month that Russia would cut 500,000 barrels per day from its production starting this month.
“In accordance with the current market situation, the decision to voluntarily reduce production by the amount of 500,000 bpd will be valid until June 2023 inclusive,” Novak added.
In a statement, Novak said the global oil market was under unprecedented pressure, citing Western energy embargoes against Russia and what he called dangerous attempts to cap the price of Russian oil.
Russia’s unilateral output cut is in addition to an agreement by OPEC+, which groups the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia, to reduce supply.
Last October, the group agreed on steep output cuts of 2 million bpd from November until the end of 2023 despite calls for increasing output from major consumers.
A high level ministerial panel from the group is scheduled to meet on April 3 to discuss market conditions, with a full ministerial meeting planned for June 4.
Oil prices fell to 15-month lows earlier this week on fears that the banking crisis could damage economies and demand for energy. But oil prices have since bounced back — US crude was trading at nearly $69 a barrel on Tuesday, while Brent crude was at about $74.
