Report: Russia oil output below OPEC+ quota amid cold weather

MOSCOW, Feb 17 (PRIME) -- The expected increase in Russia’s February oil output has so far failed to materialize, with some fields forced to curb pipeline flows due to abnormally cold weather, Bloomberg reported late on Tuesday quoting sources.

The OPEC+ member pumped 1.38 million tons a day of crude and condensate on average from February 1 to February 15, according to two people with knowledge of production data, who spoke on condition of anonymity. That equates to a daily rate of 10.115 million barrels, about 44,000 barrels lower than January’s level.

Russia was one of only two countries assigned a more generous production ceiling for this month under the OPEC+ deal. The country, along with its neighbor Kazakhstan, saw its February quota increase by 65,000 barrels a day, even as other members of the cartel kept output steady, or in the case of Saudi Arabia cut deeper.

If Russia’s production of condensate – a light oil extracted from natural gas – in the first weeks of February was in line with January levels, then daily crude production would be about 9.175 million barrels, some 8,000 barrels a day lower than the country’s quota, according to Bloomberg calculations using a 7.33 barrel-per-ton conversion ratio.

That would be the first time Russia pumped less than its quota under the agreement reached between the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies last year. Since May, Russia’s compliance with the OPEC+ pact averaged 95% and remained at that level in January, according to the International Energy Agency.

SIBERIAN FROSTS

Since the start of February, Russia’s pipeline operator Transneft has recorded lower crude flows on a regular basis at some Siberian intake points from certain producers, citing very cold weather as one of the reasons.

Temperatures in east Siberia, where many of Russia’s newer oil fields are located, plunged as low as -59 degrees Celsius (-74.2 Fahrenheit) in early February, according to the nation’s Hydrometeorological Research Center.

Russia’s emergency ministry issued weather warnings for some areas in west Siberia, the nation’s main oil province, where temperatures dropped below -30 degrees Celsius. The weather in some Siberian regions may get milder in the second half of the month, according to the research center.

Abnormally low temperatures have been disrupting energy supplies across the world since the start of the year, leading to higher prices for oil and gas. The coldest winter in 30 years has resulted in supply losses of more than 2 million barrels a day in the U.S.

The last time a severe winter led to cuts in Russian oil production was early 2017, at the start of the nation’s cooperation with OPEC. Back then, the energy ministry estimated the cold spell resulted in output reductions of some 5,000 to 10,000 barrels a day on average in early January.

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России пока не удалось нарастить добычу нефти в рамках ОПЕК+ из-за холодов – СМИ

МОСКВА, 16 фев /ПРАЙМ/. Добычу нефти в РФ в рамках сделки ОПЕК+ пока не удалось увеличилась из-за аномально холодной погоды, пишет агентство Блумберг со ссылкой на источники.

"Ожидаемого увеличения добычи нефти в России в феврале пока не удалось добиться, некоторые месторождения вынуждены ограничивать ... поставки из-за аномально холодной погоды", - пишет агентство.

За первые 15 дней февраля средняя добыча нефти и конденсата в РФ составила 1,38 миллиона тонн в день, сообщили источники агентства. Такой объем примерно равен 10,115 миллиона баррелей в сутки, что на 44 тысячи баррелей меньше январского уровня, сообщило агентство.

Согласно январским договоренностям, Россия в феврале может увеличить добычу на 65 тысяч баррелей в сутки и на столько же в марте в рамках сделки ОПЕК+. Базой отсчета для сокращений для всех взят октябрь 2018 года, но для России и Саудовской Аравии - показатель в 11 миллионов баррелей в сутки. Кроме России добычу может увеличить Казахстан, в то время как Саудовская Аравия и ряд других стран, напротив, должны дополнительно снизить добычу.