Russia may defy production capacity doubters

The OPEC+ producer could bring significant idle barrels to the market in the next 12 months

Some experts are sceptical Russia can bring back many barrels should OPEC+’s group of voluntary producers continue to unwind production cuts. But the country’s more-than-adequate oil reserves, high and rising levels of drilling, increasing amounts of advanced production techniques and possession of a potentially world-class greenfield project in Vostok Oil means there is reason to be upbeat. Russia could add up to 800,000b/d on short notice, and perhaps substantially more on a five-year horizon. In April 2025, key producers within OPEC+ began rolling back 2.5m b/d of ‘voluntary’ production cuts. As of September, this process was completed, allowing Russia to increase its oil output from 10m