Russia to continue working with other oil countries in OPEC+ format, but cutbacks not only option - RDIF chief
ST. PETERSBURG. April 9 (Interfax) - Russia is inclined to continue working with other oil producing countries in the OPEC+ format, but production cutbacks are not the only option, Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) chief Kirill Dmitriev said.
Under the present deal between OPEC and non-OPEC countries, Russia agreed to decrease oil production to 11.17 million bpd, or 228,000 bpd lower than in October 2018. Russia achieved its targeted oil production cut under the OPEC+ agreement of 225,000 barrels per day not including production sharing agreements and 190,000 bpd including PSA by the end of March.
"The key thing is that many people regard this deal with OPEC as a deal to cut output, that we must only reduce [output]. But this is not quite the right view, because in June last year a decision was reached with OPEC to increase production, which is what happened," Dmitriev told reporters on the sidelines of the International Arctic Forum in St. Petersburg.
"So if there suddenly arise such market conditions and Russia decides in June not to have that 228,000 barrel reduction, that would not mean us pulling out of the deal. It would mean a fine continuation, because it means we sometimes cut output and we sometimes raise it, stabilizing the price of oil. In our understanding, and based on our close work with Saudi Arabia, Russia will continue to work [with other oil nations] but not necessarily to cut back output," Dmitriev said.