MOSCOW, December 24. / TASS /. Russia can reach pre-pandemic levels of oil production in 2022 and increase it to 540-550 mln tonnes, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said an interview with the Rossiya-24 TV channel on Friday.

"As far as Russia is concerned, we expect to reach the production levels that we had before the cuts by May 2022. Next year our industry will produce more than in 2021, we expect somewhere around 540-550 mln tonnes," Novak said.

He added that oil demand will continue to rebound as the world has learned to cope with coronavirus infection. It will reach the pre-crisis level by the end of 2022. "According to our forecasts, demand will continue to recover. Consumption in the world is growing, despite the fact that the pandemic has not gone anywhere, but it is still present in waves. Nevertheless, countries have already learned how to live under the pandemic conditions. Demand in 2022, by the end next year, will recover to the pre-pandemic levels," he said.

Novak went on to say that as of now, the market is balanced in relation to supply and demand, including due to the joint actions by Russia and other countries as part of OPEC+.