Russia Ready To Alter OPEC+ Production if Necessary

By Tsvetana Paraskova of OilPrice.com

The OPEC+ group is still studying whether to raise oil production but it would act on supply if necessary, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Tuesday.   

The possibility to raise supply is still being reviewed, Russia’s top oilman said, as carried by Russian news agency Interfax.

“It always depends on the current situation, the balance of supply and demand,” Novak said.

“Everything is being analyzed. Right now, you don’t need to predict anything, you just need to see how the market feels,” he said. 

Novak added that OPEC+ participants “are constantly monitoring the situation, and this is our plan for the second quarter, we agreed with our colleagues that these voluntary cuts can be adjusted to boost supply if necessary.”

“This is a constant process,” Novak stressed.

The OPEC+ group is meeting on June 1 to decide how to proceed with the current production cuts in the second half of the year. The current supply agreement which removes around 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) off the market now including Saudi Arabia’s 1 million voluntary cut, expires at the end of June.

As of the end of last week, OPEC+ had yet to start formal talks on the alliance’s production policy, sources from producers part of the deal told Reuters.

If oil demand fails to accelerate, the group could keep the oil production cuts in place, the sources added.

“We think there’s a good chance that OPEC+ will extend beyond June – but we aren’t yet putting a firm view because we don’t think they’ve actually got into the real period of discussion and decision-making,” Richard Bronze of consultancy Energy Aspects told Reuters.   

The majority of analysts expect OPEC+ to extend the cut into the second half of 2024, according to a survey by Bloomberg from last week.