Page 13 - FSUOGM Week 08 2023

FSUOGM POLICY FSUOGM

Russia's oil output cut may only last

for March: Novak

RUSSIA RUSSIA’S previously announced decision to cut condensate supply.
oil production by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) Under Russia’s commitments under OPEC+’s
Russia will observe in response to EU sanctions will only apply to current production deal, Russia can produce up
what course the market output in March, Deputy Prime Minister Alex- to 10.48mn bpd of oil next month. It has been
takes. ander Novak told reporters on February 21, not- producing less than its quotas in recent months
ing that the policy’s extension would depend on as a result of fallout from Western sanctions,
the situation. however, with production averaged only 9.8-
Moscow declared in mid-February it would 9.9mn bpd in January.
remove the equivalent of 5% of its national oil Meanwhile, OPEC+’s de-facto head, Saudi
output from the market next month, stating it Arabian Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin
would not sell oil to buyers who directly or indi- Salman Al-Saud, said last week that it would
rectly adhered to the price caps imposed on Rus- stick with the quotas that were agreed in Octo-
sian crude and petroleum products. ber. He cited concern about the outlook for
Other members of the OPEC+ oil suppliers’ Chinese demand as a reason not to release more
cartel were not consulted on the matter, Novak barrels onto the market.
had said earlier. “The Chinese economy’s unlocking and
“We will see how the market situation will because of that you will have demand and
unfold, and depending on this, decisions will be what have you, but we all went through the
taken on the market,” the minister said, adding cycles of openings and lockdowns and there-
that “the present decision has only been made fore what assurances [would we have] and
for March.” the world have that none of what we went
Companies will make cuts that are propor- through, all of us, every country, will not
tionate to their overall production, according be repeated?,” he said in an interview with
to Novak, and will affect only crude oil and not Energy Aspects. ™

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