CDU TEK "due to technical reasons" could not provide a summary of oil production
05.04.2022
The Central Dispatch Department of the Fuel and Energy Complex, which is subordinate to the Ministry of Energy, which traditionally publishes monthly data, could not provide a summary of production for March "due to technical reasons", and the "statistics" section on the website of the Ministry is now missing, as "is under reconstruction." And only the source of "Interfax", "familiar with the data of industry statistics" (which apparently is still being collected despite "technical reasons") gleefully announced on April 4 that March oil production was up 7.3% from February to 46.57 million tons. Upon closer examination, however, it turns out that in fact the average daily production fell by 0.4%: after all, in February there are 28 days, and in March — 31.
Apparently, now we all will have to monitor the performance of the most important sector of the Russian economy, either according to unofficial data or secondary sources: information from price agencies, international organizations like the IEA and OPEC and companies monitoring maritime shipments (eg Kpler). The Russian authorities clearly no longer want to report how much oil the world's second-largest producer produces.
Perhaps the fact is that soon — probably already in April — Russia will lose this status as sanctions increasingly affect the export of oil and petroleum products and force production cuts. I would also venture to suggest that some Russian oilmen, who, for a number of reasons, will find it harder to sell oil, will not like the comparison with more successful competitors — and it will inevitably arise if you do not close the production statistics for individual subsoil users.
But the most important reason, probably, is that the Russian authorities are preparing for future tougher sanctions : a potential EU oil embargo, or even secondary US sanctions on Russian oil purchases.
If it comes down to it, it really shouldn't be told world, how much oil you produce. Otherwise, it is too easy to calculate the size of your exports, which will give foreign enemies food for thought in the direction of how to effectively hit these exports. For example, Iran whose oil exports since 2018 have again been subject to US sanctions, does not disclose its size. However, I can’t say that this helped Iran a lot: judging by OPEC data, Iranian oil exports have fallen by about 40% since 2018 by February 2022.
