Russia is not going to cut crude oil production, the country's energy minister Alexander Novak said on Friday. "We are not going, so to speak, to cut production. We focus on the total volume set out in [energy sector development] strategy—about 525 million tons a year," Novak said, Reuters reported. This volume is equal to 10.5 million barrels a day, the minister said. He made the statements on the outlook of the International Energy Agency, which predicts oil production in Russia will fall to 10.5 million barrels daily by 2020. In addition, RIA news agency reported on Sunday that Novak will hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Venezuela, Iran, Qatar and the UAE at the Gas Exporting Countries Forum in Tehran later on November 23. According to reports, Russia's President Vladimir Putin will also attend the forum and probably meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during his one-day visit to Tehran. GECF is an intergovernmental organization of 11 of the world's leading natural gas producers. The three largest reserve-holders in the GECF—Iran, Russia and Qatar—together hold about 57% of global gas reserves.
