Russia sees global oil market balancing in June or July

Moscow — The Russian energy ministry expects the global oil market to balance in June or July as a result of rising consumption, as well as the drop in production in OPEC+ and other countries.

"14-15 million b/d of oil has already left the market as a result of the OPEC+ deal, and also declining production in other countries. The surplus is currently around 7-12 million b/d, but the energy ministry expects that in June or July the market will balance thanks to rising consumption," the ministry said in a statement released after the energy minister Alexander Novak took part in a government meeting Monday.

The ministry estimates that although demand for oil in May continues to be low, it is up around 20% on April levels.

During the meeting, participants also discussed measures to support the industry in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Russia has already issued a temporary ban on imports of oil products, including gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel, until October 1.

It also reduced required volumes of oil products sales via exchanges by half between April 1 and June 30. Companies are now required to sell 5% of gasoline, 3% of diesel, 5% of jet fuel, 1% of fuel oil and 2.5% of LPG produced on exchanges.

Other proposals include exemptions from meeting oil production targets in project documentation, creation of a fund to support the oil field services industry, and moving the excise on motor fuels from refineries to filling stations. The government has set a deadline of June 15 to finalize these support measures.