Russia have announced a curb on exports this year, a move that may prove beneficial to an oil market plagued by oversupply issues.
The oil-pipeline monopoly Transneft said Russian companies are likely to cut crude shipments by 6.4 percent over the course of 2016, a fall of 460,000 barrels a day. These figures are comiled on applications submitted so far by Russian firms Lukoil, Rosneft and Gazprom.
The news will be welcomes by the oil market as, with sanctions on Iran set to be lifted in the coming weeks, oil on the market is set to multiply further. However, with Russia the world’s biggest oil producer, this cutback is enough to eliminate a third of the excess supply.
This decision comes just after Russian ministers announced that the Russian government budget may have to be adjusted downwards if the price of oil continues to fall. Oil exports account for 52 percent of their federal budget revenues. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said at an economic forum on Wednesday:
“If oil prices fall any further, then the budget’s parameters will have to be adjusted. We have to understand this and prepare for the worst-case scenario.”
15/01/2016