Russia orders oil companies to reduce production

Russia has reportedly ordered oil companies to cut production in order to meet a target set by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and some non-OPEC producing countries, the OPEC+ group. The Russian government has ordered companies to cut oil output in the second quarter to meet its promise to OPEC+ of 9 million bpd by the end of June, three industry sources told Reuters. The sources, who asked not to be identified, said the government had set targets for each company and indicated its intention to fulfil OPEC+’s pledge to cut output to support international oil prices. Earlier this month, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Russia would cut oil production and exports by another 471,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the second quarter. Novak fell short of the target for production, but if the reductions are implemented as planned, production would fall to almost 9 million bpd in June. Meanwhile, Novak said late last month that Russia’s oil production was 9.5 million bpd. Russia decided not to disclose statistics on its crude oil production after launching a military operation against Ukraine in February 2022, as it considered large amounts of data to be confidential.