Sechin: third of global oil reserves restricted by sanctions

CEO of Russian oil giant Rosneft Igor Sechin said a third of global oil reserves were currently restricted by U.S. sanctions on Iran, Venezuela and Russia.

Speaking at a panel discussion at St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Sechin accused the United States of using energy as a political weapon.

"The return of sanctions against Iran, the imposition of sanctions against Venezuela — the country that has the largest oil reserves in the world — as well as sector sanctions against Russian oil and gas firms have resulted in a total volume of liquid hydrocarbons under unilateral restrictions amounting to about a third of the global reserves," Sputnik cited the Rosneft CEO as saying.