MOSCOW, December 6. /TASS/. Russia may reduce oil production amid uncertainty, but this decline will not be very significant, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told reporters.
"I do not think that these will be large volumes. Nevertheless, we do not rule it out, although we are doing everything to ensure that the situation is stable and oil sales are at the level of the [volumes] that we’ve reached in 2022," Novak said.
Russia will keep its oil sales abroad in December at the level of November against the backdrop of the EU embargo and the price cap, Novak added. "We are confident that in December our sales on the global market will be at the level of November. Then we will see how the products will be sold, how the situation will develop on the market. There are many uncertainties here, including those related to the needs of the global economy," he told reporters.
Earlier, on Tuesday, Novak said that Russia in January-November 2022 increased oil production by 2.2%, to 488 mln metric tons.
On December 5, an embargo on the delivery of Russian oil by sea to EU members went into effect, as did a resolution by the EU, the G7, and Australia to set an adjustable price cap for Russian oil supplied by sea at $60 per barrel. According to Novak, Russia intends to develop a mechanism that will prohibit trading based on the rubles of the oil price cap.