OPEC monthly data reviewed by Reuters indicates that Russian crude output contracted by roughly 56,000 barrels per day in February compared with January, leaving production at 9.184 million barrels per day. The figures underline a modest downward movement in output during the month.
Despite Western sanctions imposed over Ukraine, Russia has largely maintained steady production levels. The February decline, while measurable, does not represent a substantial interruption to overall output when viewed against the country’s regular production scale.
Trade flows from Russia to India - the country’s second-largest buyer after China - fell amid external pressure from the United States. The dip in exports to India reflected that pressure, though sales began to show signs of recovery from February onward.
The early recovery in shipments followed a temporary measure from Washington: a 30-day waiver permitting Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil loaded on vessels as of March 5. The waiver was framed as a response intended to help ease a global oil squeeze linked to the Iran war.
Russia continues to occupy the position of the world’s third-largest oil producer, trailing only the United States and Saudi Arabia in total output.
Context and market implications
The modest production fall in February underscores two concurrent dynamics noted in the data: stable overall production despite sanctions, and more volatile trade patterns driven by geopolitical and diplomatic pressures. The temporary US waiver that allowed Indian refiners to accept certain Russian cargoes introduced a limited relief mechanism for buyers and helped restart some flows that had been disrupted.
Because the waiver covered cargoes loaded by a specific date - March 5 - its effects are time-bound. That constraint, together with ongoing sanction-related pressures, leaves the near-term trade picture subject to further shifts.
The figures and developments in the data should be read as changes in flows and short-term policy responses rather than as evidence of a structural change in Russian production capacity.