USA: Russian oil drillers could maintain high output despite repeated rounds of Western sanctions, according to a forecast this week by JP Morgan for Reuters.

According to the Wall Street bank, China and India are expected to increase their combined demand for crude by 1 million barrels per day (MBD) this year.

JPMorgan reportedly said, "We believe Russia will be able to maintain its oil production at pre-war levels of 10.8 mbd, but will have difficulty getting back to pre-Covid volumes of 11.3 mbd.

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The US bank speculated that Moscow may find it difficult to divert some of its oil product exports away from the continent, given the EU ban on Russian fuel imports.

According to the projection, shipments of Russian oil products by sea are projected to decline by about 300,000 barrels per day, reaching "the level last seen in May 2022".

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Meanwhile, business newspaper Kommersant reported this week, citing industry sources, that Russian oil production in February exceeded pre-sanctions levels for the first time and could exceed February 2022 levels as well.

According to Kpler, energy producers were able to ship 7.32 million barrels per day of crude oil and petroleum products last month, keeping Russian crude and petroleum product exports strong.

China, India, Turkey and some other countries have increased their purchases from Moscow, while the European Union and G7 countries have imposed price caps and sanctions on Russian fuel imports.

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In response to Western sanctions, Russia revealed plans in March to reduce oil production by 500,000 barrels per day, or about 5%.