Russia’s oil and gas condensate output plans this year call for 512 million tonnes, or 10.28 million barrels per day (bpd), little changed from 2020 but up some 6 million tonnes from initial plans, a senior energy official said.
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)members plus Russia and others, a group known as OPEC+, have been easing production curbs they put in place to support prices and avert oversupply.
With demand recovering, they eased further this month.
Russia’s production fell last year for the first time since 2008 and reached its lowest level since 2011 as part of the OPEC+ pact.
Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin told Reuters in an interview that oil and gas condensate output would reach 512 million tonnes this year, or 10.28 million bpd, without providing a breakdown for oil.
“It will be 6 million tonnes higher that earlier expected amid a steady output recovery,” said Sorokin, one of Moscow’s top OPEC+ negotiators.
Russia then expects to be able to return to pre-crisis oil output levels of at least 10.5-10.6 million bpd in 2022, he said.
The country’s oil exports are seen at between 220 and 230 million tonnes this year, down from 239 million in 2020, depending on domestic needs, Sorokin added.
Russia, whose vast energy sector emits around 1.67 billion tonnes of CO2 annually, plans to reduce greenhouse emissions from oil and gas production by 11-14% by the end of this decade using carbon capture storage and other methods, he said.
“Demand for hydrocarbons will remain,” Sorokin said. “Yes, its share (in overall demand) will definitely start falling but Russia will be able to keep its place on the (global) oil market for the next 15-20 years.”
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Olesya Astakhova; writing by Vladimir Soldatkin; editing by Katya Golubkova and Jason Neely)