June 20th, Russia’s crude oil flow to the international market has declined, but it is still much higher than the level in February (February is the benchmark month for Russia’s commitment to cut production).
Russia’s average seaborne shipments for the four weeks ended June 18 fell slightly to 3.63 million barrels per day from 3.66 million barrels per day in the last round of statistics. On that basis, production is now down 212,000 bpd from its peak as of May 21, but still 250,000 bpd higher than in the four weeks to February 26.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously said the oil and gas industry is in good shape, but he has not explained how this will line up with his pledge to cut output.
There is still not much evidence that Russia’s promised cuts of 500,000 bpd have been delivered, at least not in full. While Russian refiners reduced crude oil processing rates in early May, exports of refined products got a boost as the country’s downstream maintenance season drew to a close and processing rates increased to the highest level in nine weeks.