Min: Russia to fulfill obligations under OPEC deal in Oct

MOSCOW, Oct 25 (PRIME) -- Russia will fulfill its obligations under an oil production cut agreement between OPEC and non-OPEC states in October, Energy Minister Alexander Novak told reporters on Wednesday.

“We are fully fulfilling obligations taken under the agreement. There is even some over-fulfillment. We will give a precise figure for the results of the month, but I can surely say that we will fulfill 300,000 barrels of reduction compared with October (2016),” Novak said.

Russia expects to raise its oil output by around 3.5–4 million tonnes in 2018 compared with 2017 if the agreement between OPEC and non-OPEC states is not prolonged, the minister also said.

“551 (million tonnes of oil will be produced in Russia in 2018) if the deal is not prolonged, so by around 3.5–4 million tonnes more will be produced next year compared with this year,” he said.

In 2017, Russia’s oil output is seen at 547 million tonnes.

In November 2016, OPEC and non-OPEC states agreed to reduce their oil production to rebalance the market. Russia joined the agreement in December with a promise to cut output by 300,000 barrels daily compared with the level of October 2016. The agreement was concluded for January–June and was prolonged for nine more months in May.

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