Novak said in his Thursday remarks at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum that while it remains "premature" to talk about output decisions for August, he affirmed "The current oil price is good enough for Russia," adding: "Oil prices reflect the balance of supply and demand," and noted it's expected the seasonal oil demand will increase in the third quarter of the year. On Wednesday Brent crude futures touched their highest price since September 2019 at $71.99, with the international benchmark gaining 1.6%, following the day prior the benchmark seeing a rise of almost 3%.

Novak confirmed the upcoming OPEC+ conference will address and finalize oil output for August and other months, while stressing that oil prices shooting too high "may force users to switch to other energy sources."

On that front in particular, he blasted current IEA proposals and a "road map" being pushed which in the end could lead to $200 a barrel oil(!):