Russia’s oil output rises

MOSCOW: Russian oil output stood at 11.29 million barrels per day (bpd) in February, slightly up from 11.28 million bpd in January, Interfax news agency reported on Monday, citing Energy Ministry data.

From late last year Russia was allowed to exclude gas condensate, a form of light oil, from its quota under the existing oil supply pact between Opec and its allies but it continues to report a combined figure with no breakdown.The group, known as Opec+, meets in Vienna on March 5-6 to discuss how to address global oil demand worries amid a rapidly spreading coronavirus outbreak. — Reuters

Brent crude oil prices fell below $50 per barrel last week, the lowest since July 2017, but recovered to $51 per barrel on Monday on hopes of deeper output cuts. Moscow has not yet said if it will take part in deeper cuts.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday that the current oil price was “acceptable” to Moscow but added that it did not rule out the need for action, including with foreign partners.

Russia’s current oil production quota stands at 10.33 million bpd excluding gas condensate. It was not immediately clear from the preliminary figures how Moscow had complied with its obligations under the OPEC+ deal.

Oil output was 44.66 million tonnes last month versus 47.72 million in January, according to Interfax. The Energy Ministry did not reply to a Reuters request for a comment on Monday.

Gas production was at 60.4 billion cubic metres (bcm) last month, down from 65.51 bcm in January. (Reporting by Anton Kolodyazhnyy; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman, Kirsten Donovan)