Russia will voluntarily reduce oil exports by 500,000 barrels per day in August, said Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak on Monday, while Saudi Arabia will cut production in both July and August to stabilize prices.
The price of Russian crude oil of the Urals brand averaged $55.28 per barrel in June, lower than the threshold set by Western powers, the finance ministry announced on Monday. In the same period last year, it was $87.25, they state.
– As part of efforts to maintain balance in the oil market, Russia will voluntarily reduce oil supply by 500,000 barrels per day in August by decreasing exports to that volume in global markets – said Novak.
Russia voluntarily reduced production by 500,000 barrels per day in March compared to the average in February, and subsequently extended the decision until the end of the year, writes the Russian agency TASS.
The new decision pertains to exports, not production, TASS notes.
Saudi Arabia has decided to extend the decision on the July production cut of one million barrels per day for another month, until the end of August, the state news agency SPA announced on Monday.
Saudi production will amount to nine million barrels per day in July and August.
The head of the Russian energy company Rosneft, Igor Sechin, said in June that Russia is at a disadvantage compared to other OPEC+ countries as it exports a smaller share of produced oil, Reuters reminds.
Some OPEC+ countries export as much as 90 percent of their production, while Russia only exports half, Sechin said, according to Reuters.
Following the decision of the two leading global exporters, global supply will be reduced by a total of 5.16 million barrels per day, as it will build on the existing OPEC+ agreement to reduce supply by 3.66 million barrels per day, calculated Reuters.
