Russia is to stay in line with OPEC’s decision not to cut oil production, the country’s First Deputy PM said, adding that the move serves to secure the country’s position on the market and protect the budget, RT reports on Saturday night.
"Experts say that one of the main reasons behind the falling oil prices is that some Arab oil-producing countries... are squeezing out shale oil from the international market," Igor Shuvalov told Rossiya-1 TV on Saturday.
"If such actions are happening with the aim of fixing or confirming one's position on the market, we should not do anything at the moment to scale down our positions."
The US is seeing a peak in shale oil market production, which has drastically affected the global oil market, dampening prices. Shuvalov admitted that falling costs have dragged the ruble down to a degree it cannot be ignored.
“The decision of Russia’s Central Bank to turn to a floating course for the ruble and plunging oil prices is a serious challenge to us,” he said, explaining the reason why Moscow followed the recent OPEC meeting closely.
“We should protect our own interests, not the interests of all the major oil producers who are part of this bloc,” Shuvalov said. “And at the moment Russia is not interested in reducing oil extraction.”
