Russia has restored oil production to a level close to that recorded in February, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told reporters today on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

According to him, Russia’s oil production growth may continue in July. “I think there are prerequisites for us to continue (to increase production) in July. We see that we have a fairly significant increase compared to May – somewhere around 600,000 barrels, about 5-6%. In fact, we are close to restoring the February level, when it amounted to 10.2 million barrels,” Novak said.

He noted that further increase in oil production will depend on the companies’ plans for production, exports, supplies to the domestic market, which, in turn, depends on demand.

Novak believes that the situation on the global oil market may contribute to further growth in oil prices, but everything will depend on the balance of supply and demand.

“I hope that demand will continue to recover. There are certain risks and uncertainties related to the lockdown in the People’s Republic of China, so we will look at how the world economy and consumption will develop,” the deputy prime minister added.

June oil exports

Novak also said that Russian oil exports are falling in June due to the growth of domestic refining. “Exports are lower because they increased significantly when there was a reduction in refining, so the freed volumes went to exports,” he explained.

“In June, oil exports will be slightly lower than in May, because the volume of refinery utilization increased, and oil went to the domestic market for refining, that is, more oil products will be produced,” Novak clarified.