Russia was in full compliance with the OPEC+ deal to restrain oil production in January and plans to do so this month, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told reporters on Wednesday.

He also said that Russia planned to keep steady or increase oil refining throughput this year. Russia processed 266.5 million metric tons (5.33 million barrels per day) of oil in 2024.

Russia has frequently exceeded its output quota of 8.98 million bpd under a pact among the OPEC+ group, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies such as Russia.

Moscow has pledged to compensate for its overproduction in previous months. Its quota is expected to rise to 9.004 mln bpd from April 1, when OPEC+ plans to start gradually increasing its output.

(Reporting by Olesya Astakhova; writing by Vladimir Soldatkin Editing by Tomasz Janowski)