Russia stays firm on not returning to OPEC+ deal: report

Moscow — Russia does not see conditions for returning to the negotiating table with OPEC partners on the future of the oil production deal, energy minister Alexander Novak said Friday.

On Thursday, Novak held a meeting with Russian oil companies on production plans, during which the possibility of returning to the OPEC+ deal was not even brought up, according to participants at the meeting.

"At this stage, we did not discuss this. We do not see yet, so to speak, conditions for such proposals to be made. You see how OPEC member countries behave. Therefore, progress is hardly possible now," Novak said, as quoted by Prime news agency, potentially referring to Saudi Arabia's plans to boost supply above 12 million b/d in April.

Russia was set to participate in the OPEC+ Joint Technical Committee in Vienna on March 18, but the meeting was canceled, according to sources.

"It is difficult to meet with no proposal from Russia," one source said about the canceled meeting.

In April, Russia may fully return to production levels reached before the OPEC+ deal in October 2018, Novak said.

"I think the total volume that has been reduced, maybe 200,000 b/d, can be restored," he said.

Overall, Russia has the capacity to boost output by 500,000 b/d, according to Novak's previous estimates, but "it will take time".

In February, the country produced 11.38 million b/d of crude and condensate , according to estimates by S&P Global Platts.

Russian oil companies have voiced their readiness to work in a period of low prices. Tatneft, for example, said it would cope working with oil prices as low as $8/b.