Russia Sets Medium-Term Goal of 540 Mln Tons of Oil

Russia plans to raise its annual oil production to 540 million tons in the medium term, a target that will require additional investment, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak stated.

He noted that the government is currently working on possible incentive measures, The Caspian Post reports, citing Russian media.

"We plan to reach a level of 540 mln tons and to maintain such figures. To achieve this, it is, of course, very important to continue work aimed at creating the conditions necessary to ensure this level of production," he said.

"We are moving into hard-to-recover reserves, primarily on the Arctic shelf. This requires additional costs and appropriate investment. Therefore, we will continue our efforts, including preparing and creating conditions to boost investment inflows into this sector," Novak added.

He also added that Russia's oil production may increase by 2% in 2026 to reach 525 mln tons. "We have projected growth of approximately 2% in accordance with the socioeconomic development forecast - that's 525 mln tons," he said.

Novak noted that the global oil market is currently balanced. "Today the market is balanced. We see that during periods of low demand, decisions to increase production are not implemented, while as demand rises and the market grows, production is increased accordingly," he said.