Russia will reduce oil production by 500 thousand bpd in March

THIS MATERIAL (INFORMATION) IS PRODUCED AND DISTRIBUTED BY A FOREIGN AGENT OF THE BELL OR IS RELATED TO THE ACTIVITIES OF A FOREIGN AGENT OF THE BELL. 18+

Russia will voluntarily cut oil production by 500,000 barrels per day in March, but will not sell oil below the ceiling, said Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak today. “This will contribute to the restoration of market relations,” he believes. The reduction will be about 5% of January production.

Shortly after the news was released, Brent quotes jumped from $84.2 to $86.6 per barrel.

• The Russian authorities have repeatedly not ruled out a reduction in production as a response to the sanctions. “The move will once again stir up the oil market, which has generally accepted both the EU oil embargo and the recent ban on imports of Russian oil products,” writes Bloomberg.
• Novak said that in January Russia maintained the level of oil production at the level of November-December, or 9.8-9.9 million bpd. It did not decrease in the first week of February either.
• Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the response to the price ceiling introduced by the G7 countries, which prohibits supplies with mention of it in contracts, at the very end of December. It soon became clear that monitoring of prices was entrusted to the oilmen themselves and their partners, and control to the Federal Customs Service.