Russia Data Show Crude Output Was Below OPEC+ Target In August

Russia’s August crude output was below its OPEC+ target, following recent adjustments to the group’s compensation plans.

The nation pumped 9.175 million barrels a day last month, according to people who saw the data and asked for anonymity as the information isn’t public. That’s an increase from July, but about 84,000 barrels a day below the country’s quota for August including compensation cuts, Bloomberg calculations show.

Russia, historically one of the worst laggards in implementing the supply agreement between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, has agreed on compensation cuts to make up for previous overproduction. The monthly schedule for these extra curbs has been revised several times to accommodate Russia’s seasonal and geological challenges, while also taking into account output plans of the wider alliance.

OPEC published an updated compensation schedule on Monday, with Russia pledging to reduce its output in August by 85,000 barrels a day below its target of 9.344 million barrels a day. That brings required production to 9.259 million barrels a day.

Russia’s August production was much closer to its target level under the previous compensation schedule published in April, which required the nation to pump 9.181 million barrels a day, Bloomberg calculations show.

Russia’s Energy Ministry didn’t immediately respond to a request for a comment.

Eight OPEC+ nations on Sunday chose to start reviving a new layer of halted oil production more than a year early, rather than pausing as traders had initially expected. It came straight after the group completed the surprise restoration of a previous tranche of halted output.

The move signals the alliance’s firmly commitment to reclaiming oil market share ceded in recent years to rivals like US shale drillers, breaking with its more typical goal of defending crude prices.