Low Refining Capacity and Sanctions Responsible for Russia’s Oil Output Cuts

Russia’s announcement that it would focus on cuts to oil production instead of exports in its voluntary supply reduction within OPEC+ in the second quarter could be the result of lower refining capacity in Q2 and stricter enforcement of the sanctions on its crude exports, analysts have told Reuters. At the end of last year, Russia said it would deepen the export cut to 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the first quarter of 2024 – with May and June 2023 being the reference export levels for the cut. The cut this quarter…