Russia to reduce oil production regardless of the OPEC

As the Kommersant predicted, at the meeting in Vienna two days before the OPEC summit Russia couldn’t persuade Saudi Arabia to agree even with a symbolic reduction in production quotas. The result of consultations with representatives of Venezuela and Mexico were only general statements about the need for further contacts. In these circumstances, head of Rosneft Igor Sechin admitted for the first time that the company’s production fell by approximately 1.2 million tons per year, and as a whole Russia can take steps to reduce it even further, regardless of the position of the OPEC.

The yesterday's meeting of representatives of Russia, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Venezuela in Vienna, during which it was planned to discuss how major oil producers might affect the current low level of oil prices, ended without concrete results. According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela Rafael Ramirez, who was the organizer of the meeting, all the parties agreed that the current level of the oil prices didn’t suit them, but didn’t manage to agree on decline in the production. The head of the Russian delegation, Minister of Energy Alexander Novak specified that the current price of $80 per barrel "doesn’t require urgent actions" and the parties didn’t consider it to be critical. As a result, said Rafael Ramirez, the participants just decided "to keep in touch and meet again in three months". "It is important that we have spoke (to each other)," - said the Minister. By results of the meeting, a barrel of Brent crude oil decreased by 1% to $79.