Russia wants OPEC+ to react to oil demand recovery

Russia will propose to OPEC+ to react to the recovery in global oil demand, which has now reached 90 percent of the levels seen before the pandemic, Russia's Energy Minister Alexander Novak said.

"We hope for speedy demand recovery and will propose to react to it under OPEC+ deal," Reuters quoted Novak as saying. Speaking at an online meeting to discuss Russia's oil and gas industry, Novak said, as quoted by the TASS news agency, that Moscow hopes there would be faster demand recovery, to which it would react within the OPEC+ pact.

According to Russia's energy minister, global oil demand will return to pre-pandemic levels at some point in 2021.

If it weren't for the OPEC+ deal – in which Russia is the largest non-OPEC contributor – oil prices would have been $10-20 a barrel, and at times even negative, Novak said, noting that the record production cuts stabilized the oil market and prices.