Lukoil CEO: exit from OPEC deal should be smooth

Lukoil CEO Vagit Alekperov said that Russia should start exiting a global oil output cut deal if crude prices remain at $70 per barrel for more than six months.

"If the price of $70 remains for more than half a year, we should start exiting smoothly," Reuters cited Alekperov as saying.

According to Alekperov, an oil price between $60 and $70 a barrel was comfortable for Russian oil firms. 

"We should not repeat mistakes of 2000s when oil price crossed over $100," he stressed.

Brent crude oil futures have risen by more than 50% since mid-2017, hitting $70 a barrel this week for the first since December 2014.