"Russia Willing to Cut 1.6 Million Barrels per Day... Tensions Rise in Oil Price War"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Jiwon] Reports have emerged that Russia is willing to cut its crude oil production by 1.6 million barrels per day if an agreement is reached with other major oil-producing countries, including members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

On the 9th (local time), according to TASS news agency, a source from the Russian Ministry of Energy told the agency, "We confirm that we are prepared to reduce production by 1.6 million barrels per day." This amount corresponds to 14% of Russia's oil production in the first quarter.

However, the source stated that Russia would agree to such a cut only if other oil-producing countries agree to reduce their quotas proportionally to their production volumes.

It is reported that Russia expects not only OPEC+ (a consultative group of OPEC members and 10 major non-OPEC oil-producing countries including Russia) participants but also oil-producing countries such as the United States, Norway, and Canada to join the production cut agreement.

On the same day, 36 countries including OPEC+ participants, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom are scheduled to hold a video conference to discuss the stabilization of the international crude oil market and production cuts. However, it is uncertain whether they will reach an agreement to stabilize the international oil market.

This is because Russia and Saudi Arabia are reportedly showing differences over their respective quotas and the timing for determining these quotas, and it is also unclear whether the United States, currently the world's largest oil producer, will participate.

In fact, at the OPEC+ meeting on the 6th of last month, Russia and Saudi Arabia failed to narrow their differences, leading to the expiration of the existing production cut agreement among major oil-producing countries at the end of last month.

Since then, Saudi Arabia announced plans to increase its oil production to 12.3 million barrels per day and export 10 million barrels per day, sparking an 'oil price war.'

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.