MOSCOW: Russia has already cut oil production under a deal with OPEC by 200,000 barrels a day, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told CNBC on Thursday. He said Russia is gradually reducing its oil production and plans to reduce its oil output by 300,000 barrels a day by late April. He spoke to CNBC at the Arctic forum currently underway in Russia’s Arkhangelsk. Earlier reports said as of March 25 Russia reduced oil production by 185,000 barrels per day under the agreement with OPEC. Russia undertook to slash oil production by 300,000 barrels per day starting from January 2017 compared with October 2016 or by 2.7%.
OPEC decided at its November 2016 meeting in Vienna to limit production to 32.5 mln barrels per day in the first half of 2017, down 1.2 mln barrels per day from October 2016 production levels, with the possibility of extending this limit for the remainder of the year. At a meeting on December 10, eleven non-OPEC countries pledged to cut oil output by nearly 600,000 barrels per day, and Russia by 300,000 barrels. The agreement expires in June. The next OPEC’s meeting is due to be held on May 25. The sides are expected to discuss the extension of accords by another six months.
