Russia's oil exports fell 3% last year as country deliberately curbs production

Russia’s oil exports fell by 3.3 percent last year to 234.3 million tonnes, equivalent to 4.69 million barrels per day. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said this today during a presentation to the upper house of parliament. Russia is deliberately reducing exports in coordination with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), with the aim, they say, of stabilizing the market.

Russia is not an OPEC member, but it is part of the broader group known as OPEC+. The group also includes countries that are not part of the OPEC cartel but cooperate with it on certain issues. Coordinating oil production and exports is one of them.

Russia has pledged to reduce exports of oil and petroleum products by 500,000 barrels per day in the first quarter of this year. The reduction is based on the average level in April and May last year.

Production of oil and gas condensate fell by less than one percent last year to 530 million tonnes. That is equivalent to 10.6 million barrels per day.

According to Novak’s presentation, the volume of primary oil refining in Russia increased by 1.2 percent last year to 275 million tonnes. Gasoline production rose by 3.1 percent to 43.9 million tonnes, while diesel production increased by 3.5 percent to 88.1 million tonnes.

China’s customs authority announced in January that Russia had overtaken Saudi Arabia as China’s main oil supplier last year. Russian oil is subject to a Western embargo imposed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russian oil can still be bought in the West, but with several restrictions, including a price cap. The aim is to make it harder for Moscow to finance its war effort.