March 24 (Reuters) - Russia is very close to achieving
its target of cutting crude oil output by 500,000 barrels per
day (bpd) to around 9.5 million bpd, Deputy Prime Minister
Alexander Novak said on Friday.
RIA Novosti news agency reported on Thursday that the cut
would be from an output level of 10.2 million bpd in February.
But in a statement, Novak's office said there had been many
misinterpretations of the actual plan for the cuts, which were
announced in February.
"The reduction in production will be 500,000 bpd from the
actual production level of around 10 million bpd. Russia is now
close to the targeted level of reduction and will reach it in
the next few days," the statement said.
In February, state media said the cut would be based on
January production levels of 9.8 million-9.9 million bpd, and
would have thus taken Russia's oil output below 9.4 million bpd.
Oil exports are a major source of revenue for Russia but
they have come under pressure since the West hit Moscow with
sanctions over its military campaign in Ukraine.
As Russia navigates the maze of restrictions which the West
has imposed in an attempt to choke off its revenue from oil, the
production cut indicates that the price cap on Russian oil
products has had some impact.
Russia's Urals blend of crude oil has been trading at a
steep discount to global benchmark Brent for months.
(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
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