OREANDA-NEWS. Russia is not interested in too high oil prices and doesn't see this as necessary, unlike in Saudi Arabia. The shelf at $ 60-65 per barrel is quite suitable for Moscow. This was stated by President Vladimir Putin on the margins of the SPIEF, the Russian media reported. “Of course, Saudi Arabia wants the oil price to keep up, we don’t need it because of the greater diversification of the Russian economy. We already have a decent margin, if we bear in mind that the budget is calculated from $ 40 per barrel”, the head of state added.

The head of state noted that Russia has a budget of $ 40 per barrel of oil, while Saudi Arabia’s price is higher, so Riyadh wants high oil prices. The President said that OPEC and the Russian Federation have differences, but they are natural. "We have certain differences related to a different understanding of the" fair price", this is also natural", he said.

Answering a question about the future of Russia and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Putin said that the country isn't going to become a full-fledged member of the cartel, but will continue to cooperate with it. “I won't say what ideas we have, what we need to do in the second half of the year, but we need to take a consolidated decision”, he said. The head of LUKOIL, Vagit Alekperov, during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, said earlier that the comfortable price of oil in the world is at the level of $ 60-70 per barrel.

Last year, Energy Minister Alexander Novak reported that the OPEC + deal brought Russia an additional $ 120 billion. President Vladimir Putin described a situation in which oil production in the United States would become unprofitable, while in Russia it would continue to be profitable.