Kremlin: decision to reduce oil production was made in the interests of global energy

The decision of a number of countries of the OPEC + alliance to reduce oil production by the end of the year was made in the interests of world energy, and the dissatisfaction of some countries in this regard is “their own business.” This was told to journalists by the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov.

On April 2, 8 of the 20 OPEC+ countries announced a decision to voluntarily cut oil production from May until the end of the year. Russia (which started cutting back in March) and Saudi Arabia are cutting production by 500,000 bpd each. Also, production is reduced by Kazakhstan, Oman, the UAE, Kuwait, Iraq, Algeria and Gabon. The total reduction in production, as calculated by Interfax, will be about 1.657 million bpd.

At today’s conference call, Peskov was asked how the Kremlin feels about the US dissatisfaction with the decision of the OPEC + countries.

“In this case, the position of both OPEC and OPEC+ is important. And in this case, it is in the interests of world energy to maintain world prices for oil and oil products at the proper level. This is what you need to focus on. And other countries are satisfied or dissatisfied with this, probably, this is their own business, ”he replied.

Asked if the Russian Federation is coordinating its actions with the OPEC+ countries and whether it held any consultations before making a decision, Peskov said that Moscow is in constant contact with a number of OPEC+ states, but “no more.”

“In this case, the countries have an independent line, an independent interest in stabilizing markets,” Peskov stressed.

On Feb. 10, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Russia would voluntarily cut March oil production by 500,000 barrels per day (excluding condensate) from March. The Deputy Prime Minister explained that the reduction will help restore market relations in the face of sanctions, further decisions on production volumes will depend on the situation on the market.

April 2 Novak declared on extending production cuts until the end of 2023. According to him, this decision to cut production is associated with the ongoing banking crisis in the US and Europe, global economic uncertainty, as well as “unpredictable and short-sighted” energy policy decisions.