RUSSIA: FULL COMPLIANCE WITH OPEC +

PLATTS - The Russian energy ministry said late Monday that Russia will fully comply with its obligations under the OPEC+ agreement in September, after August output rose above the target under the deal.

"Under the OPEC+ agreement in August, Russia's oil production cut level was 143,000 b/d compared to October 2018. However, at the end of August, the cut was at a level of 299,000 b/d," energy minister Alexander Novak said in a statement released by the ministry.

Under the current OPEC /non-OPEC cuts deal, which runs to the end of March 2020, Russia has committed to pare 230,000 b/d from its October 2018 output of 11.42 million b/d.

"The lower cut in production [in August] compared to previous months was due to the technical aspects of resolving the situation associated with cleaning the pipeline network of oil contaminated with excess levels of organic chlorides. In July and June, the production cut was 289,000 b/d and 278,000 b/d, respectively," the statement said.

Excess levels of organic chlorides were detected in crude in Transneft's Druzhba pipeline network in mid-April, and resulted in major disruption to crude shipments to Europe until mid-June. Russian production volumes dipped as a result of the clean-up operation.

Earlier Monday, output data released by the central dispatching unit of the energy ministry indicated that output was up 1.2% on the month in August to 47.76 million mt, or around 11.29 million b/d. S&P Global Platts uses a conversion rate of 7.33 million barrels per metric ton.

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