MOSCOW, Aug 2, 2024 (BSS/TASS) -  World oil reserves are now below the five-year average, while global oil demand will grow by 2.2 mln barrels per day this year, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said after a meeting of the OPEC+ monitoring committee.

"The situation in the world oil markets remains stable. Demand growth is expected to be at the level of 2.2 mln barrels per day by the end of 2024. It was noted at the meeting that oil reserves are below the five-year average," Novak was quoted as saying in a statement by the Russian government.

He also noted that OPEC+ countries today reaffirmed the decisions taken at the June 2 ministerial meeting on the effect of general oil production restrictions until the end of 2025.

At the same time, according to Novak, the current range of oil prices from $80 to $85 per barrel is comfortable for Russia and the budget and it is an acceptable level for the market. "I believe that this is a normal price, which today is within the range of $80 - 85. It is comfortable for Russia and for our budget. Previously, we assumed that the price would fluctuate within $80-85 per barrel, now this has been confirmed," he said in an interview with Rossiya 24 TV channel.

He also noted that OPEC+ countries confirmed on Thursday existing agreements on oil production quotas for this year and next year after a meeting of the monitoring committee. According to them, an increase in oil production within OPEC+ is possible from the Q4.

Following a meeting of the alliance's Ministerial Monitoring Committee, OPEC+ countries confirmed that they may suspend or cancel the gradual restoration of voluntary oil production cuts from October 2024, depending on market conditions. This follows from the final communique published on the OPEC website.

Starting in October 2024, eight OPEC+ countries, including Russia and Saudi Arabia, plan to gradually begin restoring oil production. Starting in the Q1 of 2024, these countries voluntarily reduce production by 2.2 mln barrels per day.