MOSCOW, August 1. /TASS/. The current range of oil prices from $80 to $85 per barrel is comfortable for Russia and the budget and it is an acceptable level for the market, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said in an interview with Rossiya-24 TV channel.

"I believe that this is a normal price, which today is within the range of $80-85. It is comfortable for Russia and for our budget. Previously, we assumed that the price would fluctuate within $80-85 per barrel, now this has been confirmed," he said.

Novak added that the price is unlikely to remain unchanged, but will continue to fluctuate in one direction or another. "The most important thing is to maintain the balance of supply and demand. This is the basis for stable the oil price," the Deputy Prime Minister said.

He also added that OPEC+ countries confirmed on Thursday existing agreements on oil production quotas for this year and next year after a meeting of the monitoring committee. According to them, an increase in oil production within OPEC+ is possible from the Q4.

"We have once again confirmed the decisions taken at the ministerial meeting on June 2. We are talking about the fact that at the time the agreement as a whole was extended until the end of 2025, and voluntary commitments on restrictions - until the end of the third quarter of this year. And from the fourth quarter, if the supply and demand balance is positive, a partial increase in production can be possible," he said in an interview with Rossiya-24.

Novak noted that world oil reserves are now below the five-year average, while global oil demand will grow by 2.2 mln barrels per day this year. "The situation in the world oil markets remains stable. Demand growth is expected to be at the level of 2.2 mln barrels per day by the end of 2024. It was noted at the meeting that oil reserves are below the five-year average," Novak was quoted as saying in a statement by the Russian government.

Following a meeting of the alliance's Ministerial Monitoring Committee, OPEC+ countries confirmed that they may suspend or cancel the gradual restoration of voluntary oil production cuts from October 2024, depending on market conditions. This follows from the final communique published on the OPEC website.

Starting in October 2024, eight OPEC+ countries, including Russia and Saudi Arabia, plan to gradually begin restoring oil production. Starting in the Q1 of 2024, these countries voluntarily reduce production by 2.2 mln barrels per day.