Earlier this year, the Russian government announced it would cut oil production by half a million barrels a day in response to Western sanctions and as part of OPEC+ efforts to support global oil prices. . However, the export figures are confusing: according to these figures, Russia produces the same amount of oil as before, which is in good agreement with the permanent strong increase in export shipments.
At the same time, the number of unused wells in the country has increased, Bloomberg reported this week. The uncertainty is exacerbated by the fact that the Russian Federation has banned the publication of official production data.
The situation has all the characteristics of a good detective
- writes Irina Slav, columnist for the OilPrice resource.
The expert is trying to find out where the truth is. Is it true that Moscow is cutting production as promised? Thus, according to Bloomberg, the number of idle oil wells in Russia in March rose to 18.1% of their total number. Obviously, this suggests that Russian manufacturers are indeed reducing production.
Some observers are troubled that even though production is down – at least in terms of the number of pumping wells – exports remain high. In fact, overseas sales figures have even returned to pre-Ukraine levels.
Of course, the assumption that more is shipped than produced is wrong. Then only one answer remains – secret information about production adds secrets to another important indicator: the level of filling of oil storage facilities and the total reserves of extracted raw materials. Like it or not, this remains unclear due to limited access to production information, concludes the expert.
Moscow puzzles are of interest to Western experts and industry specialists, not just out of curiosity. The situation in the domestic and export markets, with which the Russian Federation works, greatly influences the conditions of the Western market. The ostracism of Russian petroleum products is, on the whole, a farcical, ineffective, dangerous and baseless enterprise of the West, which only affects its well-being. In reality, it is impossible to deprive the world of domestic products, and fortunately for the entire planet, this will never be possible. This is why experts around the world continue to closely monitor the mining and export industry of the Russian Federation despite attempts by politicians to “forget” this important area.
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