Russia sees the improvement in the oil market situation but risks are still present because of new coronavirus strains’ spread, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 TV Channel after the OPEC+ meeting.
“We see the Delta strain spread that can indeed influence [on the current situation on the oil market]. We see that the monitoring showed an increase in air and motor traffic over August,” Novak noted.
Russia at the same time expects a traditional oil demand drop in the last quarter of this year. “We will monitor the situation. The demand is known to decline in the fourth quarter while our plans to build up [production] are uniform, so we will see how the market will balance itself,” the official added.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister added that the current oil price [recently climbing to $82 per barrel according to ICE data – TASS] objectively reflects the market situation.
“The market always objectively reflects the current situation,” Novak said.
“Total [oil] inventories dropped by 364 mln barrels over the last year and a half, from the pandemic and oil crisis start, and they are 130 mln [barrels] lower than the average five-year figure. This is good for the market, it means it is balanced,” the official added.
Source: TASS