Russia expects up to 15% drop in oil output in 2020

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak on Wednesday said the country’s oil output could fall by up to 15% this year, Interfax news agency reported, representing its first annual decline since 2008.

Novak cited this month’s deal between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other large oil producers to cut their combined oil output by almost 10 million barrels per day (bpd) in May and June to combat slumping prices.

Russian oil output will decline to between 480 million and 500 million tonnes (9.6 million bpd to 10 million bpd), from 2019’s high of 560 million tonnes, Novak said.

The 2008 decline in Russian oil output, as prices fell amid the financial crisis, amounted to only 0.7%.

Novak also said that both foreign-operated and domestic oil projects will reduce output as part of the global supply pact.

International oil majors, such as ExxonMobil and Shell, are involved in several oil and gas projects in Russia under production-sharing agreements signed in the 1990s.

Novak said that Russian companies will cut their production by 19% from February levels as part of the OPEC-led deal, Interfax reported.