MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Moscow may reduce its oil production by 14 percent and reach the level of 460 million metric tons per year by 2020, Russia’s Vedomosti newspaper reported Thursday, citing a presentation by Energy Minister Alexander Novak.
On Wednesday, Novak presented a stress scenario included in the Russian energy strategy up to 2035 at a governmental commission meeting.
The possible scenario considers a variant, according to which the oil price will be kept at $31-33 per barrel in 2016 and 2017, while by 2020 it will rise to $42 per barrel, the newspaper cited the document it obtained from the Russian Energy Ministry.
On Tuesday, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Venezuela held talks on the current oil market situation in the Qatari capital of Doha and agreed to proceed with the initiative if other countries followed suit. The proposal was later backed by Ecuador, Algeria, Nigeria and Oman.
Russian Deputy Energy Minister Kirill Molodtsov said Thursday the country might increase its oil output by 1.9 percent over the course of 2016, taking into account its agreement with three members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).