Average daily output so far this month has fallen 3 percent compared to July, totaling 1.428 million tonnes, the paper said, citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the data. Small oil companies, as well as state-owned major producer Gazprom Neft, accounted for 90% of the decline. Russia’s other major oil producers kept output levels steady. They are expected to boost output as part of the latest OPEC+ deal that increases the oil cartel’s production target by 100,000 barrels a day. Experts cited by Kommersant say that the largest oil companies are displacing their smaller competitors and forcing them to lose their position in the market. Russia’s oil output has been on a rebound since falling sharply in April, although it has not yet reached pre-sanctions levels. The International Energy Agency raised its forecast for Russian crude output through 2023, saying last week that the sanctions had had a limited impact due to increased demand from mainly Asian buyers. The EU embargo on Russian crude oil and oil products is expected to further reduce Moscow’s exports to Europe when it takes effect in February 2023.
