OPEC+ produced 1.45 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) below its March targets as Russian output began to decline following sanctions imposed by the West, the producers' alliance said in a report leaked to Reuters.

Russia produced about 300,000 bpd short of its March target of 10.018 million bpd.

The data showed compliance with production cuts rose to 157% in March from 132% in February, the highest since OPEC introduced production cuts of around 10 million bpd in May 2020 to counter the impact of the pandemic on demand.

OPEC+ last month agreed to another increase in monthly oil production by 432,000 bpd in May, resisting pressure from major consumers to increase output.

As the group recovers from production cuts, several producers, namely West African countries struggling with a lack of investment and an outflow of international energy companies, are not keeping up.