Russia: Global Oil Market Will Be Balanced in the Second Half of 2024

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Monday that "the global oil market will be balanced in the second half of the year and beyond, thanks to the OPEC+ production agreement." The OPEC+ alliance, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, including Russia, has been implementing a series of production cuts since late 2022 to support the market. The alliance agreed on June 2 to extend the previous cut of 2.2 million barrels per day until the end of September and gradually phase it out starting from October. The U.S. Energy Information Administration stated last week that global oil demand is expected to exceed production by about 750,000 barrels per day in the second half of 2024 due to a decrease in OPEC+ production. An OPEC report last week also pointed to a deficit in oil supplies in the coming months and in 2025. In response to a question about the state of the oil market in the second half of the year as the OPEC+ alliance begins to lift some production cuts in the fall, Novak said, "The market will always be balanced thanks to our movements."