Russia to continue cuts in oil, product exports

Russia will continue the additional voluntary supply cut of 300,000 barrels a day from its crude oil and petroleum product exports until the end of December as previously announced, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Sunday.

Russia had agreed to undertake two separate reductions in oil supply — in April it decided to cut crude output by 500,000 barrels a day until the end of 2024, while in August it said it would reduce exports by 300,000 barrels a day until the end of this year.

"The additional voluntary cut is intended to strengthen the measures taken by OPEC+ countries to maintain the stability and balance of oil markets," Novak said.

According to him, Russia will consider next month whether to deepen its voluntary export cuts or increase production.

Russia made the announcement after Saudi Arabia released a statement that said the country will continue with its voluntary output cut of 1 million barrels a day until the end of December, an official source at the ministry of energy said on Sunday.

OPEC+, which comprises the countries of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and leading allies including Russia, has been cutting output since last year in what it says is preemptive action to maintain market stability.

Record high

Oil hit a 2023 high in September at nearly $98 a barrel for Brent crude, although it has since weakened to trade at about $85 a barrel on Friday despite the conflict in the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia, OPEC's de facto leader, first made the voluntary cut for July as an addition to a broad supply-limiting deal first agreed by some members of OPEC+ in April.

Also on Sunday, the Russian Defense Ministry said a new strategic nuclear submarine, the Emperor Alexander III, had successfully tested a Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile.

The missile, which the Federation of American Scientists says is designed to carry up to six nuclear warheads, was launched from an underwater position in the White Sea off Russia's northern coast and hit a target thousands of kilometers away on the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East, the defense ministry said.

The military operation in Ukraine has triggered the worst crisis in Moscow's relations with the West since the depths of the Cold War, and Russian President Vladimir Putin last month said he was not ready to say whether or not Russia should resume nuclear testing.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview aired on Sunday that relations with the United States were below zero.

Russia aims to build a total of 10 to 12 Borei-class submarines to be divided between the Northern and Pacific fleets, according to current plans disclosed by Russian media.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky again called on the US to provide more funding to help his forces counter Russia, and invited former US president Donald Trump to fly in to see the scale of the conflict for himself.

Trump, who is seeking reelection in 2024 and is the leading candidate for his party's presidential nomination, has been sharply critical of US support for Kyiv and has said he could end the conflict in 24 hours if reelected.