Novak expects Russian oil exports to grow by the end of the year

MOSCOW, 14 Oct – PRIME. Exports of Russian oil in 2022 will grow by about 8% compared to last year, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said.

“This year, if we talk about the oil industry, we expect even higher production volumes compared to last year – not much, but higher… Exports will be higher by about 8%,” Novak said during a panel discussion as part of the Russian Energy Week .

The most critical, according to Novak, was March, when the decline in oil production in Russia amounted to about 10%. “In April, we started to recover… By May-June, we restored the volume that was before the crisis… And now we are in a stable state…,” he said.

“Our oil companies were able to reorient themselves to other markets… establish new supply chains… find new payment mechanisms and transitions, including payments in national currencies. That is, we now see a stable situation here in providing the domestic market and export sales,” — Novak added. According to him, supplies will be redirected from Europe to Asia, Africa and Latin America. Novak added that it is planned to expand the capacity of the ports of Ust-Luga, Novorossiysk, Primorsk by about 40 million tons.

According to the Ministry of Economic Development, last year oil exports amounted to 231 million tons. The May forecast of the ministry stated that by the end of the current year it would decrease by 1.2%. At the same time, in June, the Ministry of Energy announced that the figure for the year, on the contrary, would exceed the previous one, but the figures were not specified.

Russian Energy Week takes place in Moscow from 12 to 14 October. RIA Novosti acts as an information partner of the forum.