Last month, Novak already announced that it would cut oil production in March. That has now been extended. Russia has been producing 500,000 barrels a day less since this month, about 5 percent of what the country pumped in January. This number is “in line with the current market situation,” he told Russian media.
Due to the import bans, Russia can no longer sell oil via tankers to EU countries, which means that the country earns less from oil production. Last week, the International Energy Agency (IEA) reported that Russia’s oil revenues fell more than 40 percent in February.
Due to the sanctions and the Western price cap for Russian oil, Russia is now selling more to countries in South America and Asia. There, traders negotiate sharply lower prices because Russia cannot sell oil to the West.