MOSCOW (AFP)--Russia backs Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' cuts in oil production and will "participate" in such efforts, a top Russian official said Thursday ahead of a meeting where the cartel is expected to discuss further cuts.
"We support the reduction of deliveries to the market, and Russia will participate in this work," Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin said during a meeting with President Dmitry Medvedev, quoted by Russian news agencies.
Though not a member of OPEC, Russia in recent months has coordinated production cuts with the oil organization in a bid to stabilize plummeting oil prices.
Sechin is due to attend an OPEC meeting Sunday in Vienna where the grouping is expected to discuss whether to slash output further.
Speaking at the meeting with Medvedev, Sechin said "joint actions" by Russia and OPEC had helped the price of oil stabilize at around $40 per barrel after a precipitous plunge triggered by the global economic crisis.
"We believe that Russian companies have made their contribution to the stabilization of prices, but this work must be continued," said Sechin, who is also chairman of the Rosneft (ROSN.RS) oil company.
Medvedev responded: "We do not want overly high prices which would have a destructive effect on the structure of our economy, and naturally we are not interested in a substantial fall of these prices below a just level."
Russia is the world's largest non-OPEC oil producer.
Like other oil exporting countries, Russia has been deeply impacted by a plunge in the price of oil from over $147 per barrel last summer to around $42 now.
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Publié le 12 mars 2009 Copyright © 2009 Dowjones