A few days ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the OPEC+ group, which includes major oil producers including Russia, expects global demand to increase in the coming summer months. He added that the group may continue to approve significant production increases.

According to Reuters, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies had previously agreed in April 2025 to increase production in May 2025 by a larger amount than expected, despite weak prices and slowing demand. The group has since decided to continue production increases beyond what was previously planned.

In a televised meeting with journalists, President Vladimir Putin stated that global consumption of crude oil and its products is growing due to the growth of the global economy itself. He added that production is only growing at the level agreed upon within the OPEC+ alliance, and that this increase is intentional to meet the increase in demand, especially in the summer.

President Putin addressed Europe’s plans to tighten sanctions on Russia, including reducing the price ceiling for Russian oil from $60 per barrel to $45. He said that “the more sanctions there are, the more those who impose them suffer.” He emphasized that it is impossible to “stop” Russian oil and that the sanctions will not have a significant impact on Russia.

It is worth noting that a group of eight OPEC+ members (Saudi Arabia, Russia, Kuwait, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan, Oman, and Algeria) will meet online on July 6, 2025, to discuss their production policy.

According to Reuters, eight OPEC+ members, which include the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers led by Russia, have begun to end their voluntary production cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day. The eight countries agreed to monthly increases from April to July 2025, and they are scheduled to meet next month to decide on a production increase in August 2025.