Russian oil producer Gazprom Neft is set to restart production at mothballed oil wells in West Siberia.
The move comes as Russia plans to increase its production aligned with an agreement with the OPEC+ group of oil-producing nations.
OPEC+, which includes the members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other key producers such as Russia, cut oil output by 9.7 million barrels per day (Mbpd) earlier this year.
The step was taken to revive oil prices, which fell to record lows as the Covid-19 pandemic affected demand.
The group will continue to reduce supplies by 500,000bpd next month.
In accordance with the plan, Russia intends to increase its production by 125,000bpd, Reuters reported.
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By GlobalDataEarlier, Russia had to idle a large number of wells to adhere to the agreed production cuts.
Gazprom Neft CEO Alexander Dyukov told the news agency that the company expects to register a profit this year as most of the producers posted losses due to weak demand and low prices.
Dyukov was quoted by Reuters as saying: “Oil prices and the rouble rate will define if we end the year with an income.”
The oil-producing arm of Gazprom, Gazprom Neft recorded a net income of RUR36bn ($478.4m) in the first nine months of the year. The figure was RUR320bn in the same period a year ago.
Dyukov expects that global oil demand will recover to pre-crisis levels by early to mid-2022.
