MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russia's budget in 2017 may receive additional revenues of some 1.5 trillion rubles ($25.9 billion at the current exchange rates) if global oil prices stand at the range of $50-$60 per barrel, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told the RT broadcaster in an interview.
"We have estimated that if [oil] prices stand at the level, which is within the range of $50-$60 per barrel, the added value for the budget could be around 1.5 trillion rubles in a year," Novak said.
The minister added that he expected the price of Brent crude oil to average $50-60 per barrel in 2017.
In November 2016, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) member states reached an accord to cut their oil production for a six-month period to support the prices and the budgets of the oil-producing countries. In December, 11 non-OPEC countries joined the deal.
Russia May Ramp Up Oil Extraction in Arctic if Oil Prices Grow
Russia intends to increase its oil extraction and exploration on the Arctic shelf if the oil prices on the international market grow, according to the energy minister.
“Under the better environment we will definitely consider… a much more active exploration, drilling, commissioning of deposits. The Arctic is a future of our oil and gas production,” Novak said.
The Arctic shelf is a huge hydrocarbon reserve that possesses billions of tons of oil and tens of trillion cubic meters of gas, the minister added.
“Considering the current situation of global hydrocarbon prices’ reduction, the activity [in oil extraction] that we saw several years ago, before 2014, now is reduced. However, we have discovered 19 hydrocarbon fields there,” Novak underlined.
Export duty rates for oil from Eastern Siberian, Caspian and the Arctic Prirazlomnoye oilfields was set at zero in February 2015. These zero-rate export duties will stay in place if the average oil price does not exceed $65 per tonne.
