by Olesya Astakhova and Vladimir Soldatkin
MOSCOW (Reuters) – The head of Russian oil company Gazprom Neft said on Saturday he saw no need for a further cut in oil supplies from OPEC+ producers, days before a meeting of the group .
OPEC+ producers agreed on voluntary production cuts totaling around 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) for the first quarter led by Saudi Arabia, which continued a reduction of 1 million bpd.
OPEC+ producers are due to hold a key ministerial meeting on February 1. According to sources at the organization, it will likely decide its oil production levels for April and beyond in the coming weeks.
“On the one hand, OPEC+ has already decided to reduce production and the cuts start now, in January. On the other hand, we are approaching the spring season, a seasonal increase in oil demand. This can’t be long, in two months,” Alexander Dyukov, general director of Gazprom Neft, told reporters.
“In my opinion, it is not necessary at the moment (to adjust the OPEC+ agreement),” he added.
The leader had estimated earlier in the day that there was a slight surplus in the global oil market.
Alexander Dyukov also indicated that his company plans to increase its oil refining volumes and hydrocarbon production in 2024, without providing figures, while Gazprom Neft’s investments are considered unchanged this year.
The International Energy Agency, which advises oil-consuming countries, said that with conflict in the Middle East raising concerns over supply, barring significant disruptions to flows, the market appeared reasonably well supplied with 2024 and that a surplus could emerge if OPEC and its allies end production cuts as planned in the second quarter.
Russian Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov also said on Saturday that the country’s oil production would likely remain unchanged this year, the RIA news agency reported.
Russian oil and gas condensate production fell slightly last year to 10.6 million barrels per day.
The Interfax news agency also cited Nikolai Shulginov as saying that Russia has reduced gasoline exports following an incident at the NORSI oil refinery.
The outage sparked concerns about a possible nationwide gasoline shortage, and media reports suggested the government was considering banning the export of the fuel, as it did last fall.
(Reporting by Olesya Astakhova; writing by Vladimir Soldatkin, Benjamin Mallet)
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