The Russian oil industry does not yet need government support, it has accumulated certain reserves, Russian Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov said in an interview with Rossiya 24 TV channel.
“So far they are managing. On the one hand, certain reserves have been accumulated, and on the other hand, our legislation has been quite flexible – that is, in the period of high oil prices, withdrawals from the industry are very large, and in the period of low oil prices, they fall virtually to zero. Not to zero, of course, but they are substantially reduced,” he said.
“Here is another issue that this industry also faced a decline in demand, domestic demand has also fallen – for air transportation, for road transportation. And this, of course, is also a very serious challenge for everyone,” the minister added.
On April 21, price of Russian Urals oil in northwestern Europe fell to $11.59. This became the minimum figure since March 1999, when the price dropped to $11.74, according to Argus agency.
Russian oil declined amid a shock, when the price of May WTI futures on April 20, before these contracts expired, became negative. According to Argus, this was due to the lack of oil storage tanks in Oklahoma, the center of price determination in the WTI market.
Tags Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Rossiya 24 TV channel Russia TASS News Agency
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