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Oil production freeze reasonable for Russia if OPEC reduces output — minister

According to Russia's deputy energy minister, if the cartel fails to reach an agreement at the meeting in November it is worth continuing the dialogue regarding oil production optimization

© Yegor Aleyev/TASS

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DUSSELDORF, November 24. /TASS/. It is reasonable for Russia to freeze crude oil production if OPEC reduces output, Deputy Energy Minister Anatoly Yanovksy told TASS on Thursday.

"Of course (Russia will not agree to reduce production - TASS), why should it? We have to leave the market so that someone else could tap it - why? In my view, the freeze itself without OPEC’s decision to reduce production is pointless. (For Russia) to decide to freeze (oil output) they have to take a decision to cut it," he said.

According to Yanovsky, if the cartel fails to reach an agreement at the meeting in November it is worth continuing the dialogue regarding oil production optimization."

Earlier on Thursday Russia’s Energy Minister Alexander Novak said that the freeze of oil production for Russia is equivalent to a reduction of production by 200-300,000 barrels per day, as it deprives companies’ ability to increase production in accordance with their 2017 plans. According to the Energy Ministry, between November 1 and 23, average daily oil production in Russia was 11.2 mln barrels.

On September 28, OPEC member-nations reached an agreement to limit the average daily oil production to 32.5-33 mln barrels at the informal meeting within the International Energy Forum in Algiers.

In end-October the first meeting of OPEC’s specialized committee on implementation of the agreements reached in Algeria, took place in Vienna. It did not result in any proposal as the experts discussed the roadmap of the mechanism of production stabilization and implementation of the agreements reached in Algeria.

The final decision regarding the agreement is expected at the OPEC meeting on November 30 in Vienna.

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