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FORUM-Russia signals may lift curbs on oil exports
NEW YORK, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Russia signaled on Saturday it was unlikely to stick much longer to voluntary curbs on its oil exports, saying it had no formal commitments to the OPEC group of oil exporters to keep a lid on its shipments.
"We don't have any kinds of commitments or agreements, we are just consulting with (OPEC)," Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov told the World Economic Forum in New York. "We're to a certain extent coordinating (with OPEC)."
Russia, the world's second biggest crude oil exporter, had agreed to cut exports of crude oil by five percent, or 150,000 barrels per day, in the first three months of the year. Russia's cooperation with OPEC was key to the cartel's own decision to cut supply from Jan. 1 to counter a steep drop in oil prices on the back of a global economic slowdown.
Oil prices have fallen 30 percent since the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, as a mild U.S. winter and a depressed world economy stifled fuel consumption.
OPEC agreed to cut production by 1.5 million barrels per day from Jan. 1, and persuaded five nonaligned rivals, including Russia, Mexico and Norway, to cut a total of nearly 500,000 bpd more.
The drop in Russian exports has seen a flood of oil in its refineries and pipelines, forcing domestic prices sharply lower and causing a sharp drop in revenues for the Russian government.
To ease the domestic glut, Russia on Thursday moved to reduce export duties on fuel oil
Kasyanov said Russia would decide on its new energy strategy soon. "One of the targets will be to increase Russia's presence on the energy markets," he said, but added that would depend on a recovery in the U.S. and European economies.
"We view the current period as temporary, and we're expecting the European and U.S. economies to grow," which would in turn raise demand for Russian oil exports, he said.
Top OPEC officials said on Friday the cartel was unlikely to make further cuts in production at its next meeting in March and could even raise output as early as June depending upon the strength of an expected global economic recovery.
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