The OPEC + alliance does not see the need for a new reduction in oil production

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday that the OPEC + alliance does not see a need for an additional cut in oil production, although Chinese demand was less than expected, but added that the group is always able to adjust its policy.

He also said that Russia had reached its target level of oil production this month after announcing a production cut of 500,000 barrels per day, or five percent of its production, until the end of the year.

Russia is a member of the OPEC + alliance of oil producing countries, which announced a surprise cut in the total production of member countries by 1.16 million barrels per day earlier this month, a move that the United States described as an unwise measure.

Novak added that Russia's production of oil and gas condensate is expected to decline to about 515 million tons this year from 535 million tons in 2022 (equivalent to ten million barrels per day), which is largely in line with a report published by Reuters this week.

In response to a question about whether the coalition needs to make more production cuts in light of the decline in oil prices, Novak said: Well, no, of course not. Because we made a decision (regarding the reduction) a month ago, which will be implemented from May.

He added that the alliance does not expect a shortage in oil supplies in global markets after cutting production, as expected by the International Energy Agency. The IEA had said that cutting production risked exacerbating the oil supply deficit in the second half of the year.

In my opinion, the market is now balanced, Novak said, taking into account the decisions that were taken earlier, as well as the cuts that we have made, and the cuts that we have seen in other countries.

Russia was able to maintain its oil production and exports thanks to its ability to divert its sales of energy products outside Europe, its traditional market, after it was subjected to harsh sanctions for its invasion of Ukraine.

Novak said Russia will export 140 million tons of crude oil and oil products to Asia this year, the amount previously exported to Europe. He added that his country will supply the West with quantities ranging from 80 million tons to 90 million tons of crude and oil products in 2023.