Russia Oil Output Dips

Russia’s oil output dipped in November, preliminary data from Russia’s federal state budgetary organization CDU TEK said over the weekend, days before the OPEC summit scheduled for December 6 that will serve as a forum for another oil production cut.
The November data showed Russia’s oil production had fallen to 11.369 million barrels per day, including condensates, an almost half a percentage decline from the record highs Russia kicked out in October reaching 11.41 million bpd, Oil Price reported.
Production had previously been steadily increasing for months as Saudi Arabia and Russia attempted to lift production to make up for Iranian losses that most expected from the unilateral US sanctions.
The cuts come after Russia’s Energy Ministry was reported as discussing potential oil production cuts with local producers to come up with a position before the  meeting scheduled for this weekend.
However, the slip in production for November is seen by analysts, according to Bloomberg, not as a deliberate attempt to curb production to balance the market, but more as the natural consequence of issues with specific oilfields, and possibly from seasonality.
The news of Russia’s declining production served as another boost for oil prices that have seen a rocky few weeks.
Oil prices continued to rise on Tuesday.North Sea Brent crude oil was up 75 cents, or 1.2%, at $62.44 per barrel. US light crude was 65 cents higher at $53.60.