Russia's oil output remained controlled in June

Russian oil output stood at 10.95 million barrels per day (bpd) last month , unchanged from the previous month, Energy Ministry data showed yesterday, pointing to the country's full compliance with a global pact to curb crude production.

The Opec and other producers led by Russia initially agreed late last year to reduce their total oil output by almost 1.8 million bpd in the first half of 2017 to boost the price of crude, a key source of revenue. The deal was extended until the end of March 2018 as global oil stockpiles are still brimming. Russia, not an official Opec member,  also pledged to cut 300,000 bpd.

This compares to output of more than 11.2 million bpd in October last year, taken as the baseline for the global deal. In tonnes, oil output reached 44.801 million, versus 46.298 million in May. Russian oil pipeline exports last month stood at 4.131 million bpd, down from 4.518 million bpd in May. Almost all Russian oil producers cut or froze their output last month, except for the country's largest producer, Rosneft , which increased production by 0.2 per cent. Production at Gazprom Neft declined by 0.9 per cent, and output at Slavneft fell by 2.2 per cent. For the first six months of the year, Russian oil output rose 1.4 per cent, year-on-year, to an average of 11.02 million bpd.

In Opec, oil output rose in June by 280,000 bpd to a 2017 high, a survey found, as a further recovery in supply from the two member countries, Libya and Nigeria, exempt from the production-cutting deal offset strong compliance by their peers.

High compliance by Arabian Gulf producers Saudi Arabia and Kuwait helped keep Opec's adherence with its supply curbs at a historically high 92 per cent last month, compared with 95 per cent in May, the survey found. The recovery adds to the challenge the Opec-led effort to support the market is facing from a persistent inventory glut. If the recovery lasts, calls could grow within Opec for the exempt countries to be brought into the production deal. Natural gas production in Russia was at 51.28 billion cubic metres (bcm) last month, or 1.71 bcm a day, versus 54.63 bcm in May.

* Reuters