Russia NEWS

"MOSCOW, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Wednesday that OPEC+ group of largest oil producers has resisted calls from Washington to boost output because it wants to provide the market with clear guidance and not deviate from policy. "

(Bloomberg) --For a glimpse of how much longer this year’s energy crunch is going to last, look no further than the European natural gas market. Forward prices have more than doubled over the past month, with traders betting the unprecedented squeeze will last into early 2023. Gas will be expensive even when the weather is hot. Prices for the summer exceeded 100 euros ($113) a megawatt-hour this week, the highest on record. Europe is facing an energy crisis, with Russia curbing supplies and nuclear outages in France straining power grids in the coldest months of the year. And there’s no relief in sight. Germany said Russia’s controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline won’t be approved in the first half of 2022, a move that will probably keep supplies capped in the summer, when Europe need gas to fill storage sites. “Help does not appear to be on the way,” said Kaushal Ramesh, a senior analyst at consultants Rystad Energy in Norway. The increase in forward prices is “suggesting another year of volatility and a continued high price environment.”

MOSCOW, December 17. /TASS/. The OPEC+ agreement, which regulates oil production on the global market, will work for the next 20 years, Vice-President of Russian oil major Lukoil Leonid Fedun told reporters. "The OPEC+ deal will be needed in all scenarios of the oil market development. I think that it will be effective at least in the next 20 years," he said. In his opinion, OPEC+ will continue to increase oil production in February at a given rate, which is by 400,000 barrels per day.

Russia’s oil and gas discoveries fell to the lowest in five years in the first half of 2021, after last year’s crisis resulted in steep cuts in capital expenditures for exploration, data and analytics company GlobalData said on Wednesday. In the first half this year, Russian companies found oil and gas at six very small fields, adding just 36 million barrels to reserves, which is equivalent to fewer than four days of Russian daily oil production, according to GlobalData estimates.

ONGC Videsh Ltd, India's flagship overseas oil and gas firm, and the nation's largest refiner Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) on Friday signed agreements with Russia's Gazprom for cooperation in the hydrocarbon sector. Indian oil and gas companies are looking to acquire stakes in prolific oil and gas areas in Russia as part of a larger strategy to acquire equity oil and gas overseas that could offset the country's huge 85 per cent dependence on imports for meeting energy needs. OVL, the overseas arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), inked MoUs on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum at Vladivostok, the company tweeted.

MOSCOW: Russia's energy and finance ministries have agreed to reduce fuel tax from May 1, cutting 350 billion roubles ($4.5 billion) from the state budget in 2021-2023, they said on Tuesday.The finance ministry said earlier in April that Russia planned to tackle rising fuel costs by changing taxes and paying more compensation to companies for holding down prices.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Wednesday there was a risk of non-OPEC+ oil producers increasing output due to higher oil prices and that oil market demand was gradually being restored.In televised comments at a meeting chaired by President Vladimir Putin, Novak said the oil market was stable now and that Russia would raise output in April due to an improved situation with the pandemic.

According to the SEC classification, Russia’s Lukoil proved hydrocarbon reserves totaled 15.4 billion barrels of oil equivalent, 76% of which is comprised of liquids.The proved reserves replacement ratio, excluding the effect of changes in macroeconomic factors used for reserves estimate, totaled 93% in 2020. The company's proved hydrocarbon reserves life is 20 years.

Joe Biden’s push to slash carbon emissions may inadvertently give a short-term boost to energy companies in one of the world’s biggest polluters. Investors are betting that Russian oil giants such as Lukoil PJSC, Rosneft PJSC and Tatneft PJSC will rally as they mop up market share from rivals in U.S. and other countries seeking to switch to clean energy.

China has launched 1,100 km section of China-Russia East gas pipeline. Operations have already started in the middle portion of the pipeline. This will facilitate smog-prone Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in northern China with the natural gas from the Power of Siberia system. The line is expected to be complete by 2025 and could transport 38 bcm per annum of gas.

OPEC+ fears the second wave of COVID-19. The cartel is particularly troubled due to the jump in Libyan output. On Thursday, the Joint Technical Committee held a virtual meeting to discuss the issues. "In particular, a resurgence of COVID-19 cases across the world and prospects for partial lockdowns in the coming winter months could compound the risks to economic and oil demand recovery," said the panel.

Russian oil pipeline monopoly, Transneft yesterday reported a 13% jump in the first-quarter net earnings Y/Y to 56.7 billion roubles ($822 million). The firm climbed on the back of higher sales to register a 1.3% jump in net revenue to 263.3 billion roubles. Transneft has also paid oil suppliers a whopping sum of $71 million for the April oil contamination.

Polish President Andrzej Duda has informed that the construction of Baltic, a new pipeline, will commence soon. This major gas pipeline from Norway will mark the independence of Poland from Russian gas. Its capacity is said to be 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year. Italian oilfield services major, Saipem who will take care of pipeline's construction said that the contract is worth $307 million.

Energy major Shell denied Russian Arctic oil JV with Gazprom, Meretoyakha Neftegaz. This decision has been taken keeping in mind the falling investment in the energy sector projects and fragile crude demand. Shell said, "Due to challenging external environment Shell will not pursue the completion of the deal to create a joint venture on the basis of Meretoyakha Neftegaz".

Following Mexico's refusal, OPEC+ on Easter Sunday agreed upon 9.7mn bpd of production cut. “These production adjustments are historic. They are largest in volume and the longest in duration, as they are planned to last for two years", said OPEC's Secretary-General. This decision has brought hope for the African oil producers giving them a financial boost. NJ Ayuk welcomed the decision declaring it a home run by OPEC.

US President Donald Trump has appreciated the efforts of OPEC and its allies to slash the output. "The big Oil Deal with OPEC Plus is done. This will save hundreds of thousands of energy jobs in the United States", tweeted the President. According to Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, if the prices remain $30 a barrel, 40% of US oil and gas producers might face insolvency within the year.

After more than nine hours meeting on Thursday, OPEC and its allies have settled for historic agreement with an exception. The group has decided to take 10 million barrels per day off the market to which Mexico hasn't given the consent. The statement by OPEC read "agreed by all the OPEC and non-OPEC oil-producing countries participating in the Declaration of Cooperation, the agreement is conditional on the consent of Mexico".

Oil prices plummeted in the international market on Friday, as markets largely remained worried about plunging demand due to the coronavirus outbreak. Brent crude slipped by 2%, to $32.55 a barrel. US WTI crude dropped 2.1%, to $30.84 a barrel. After OPEC+ meeting fell apart last week, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have opened the flood gates of low-priced oil into the market further intensifying the pressure on prices.