Moscow, July 23 - Nefegaz.RU. The head of Russian oil company Rosneft said that, from his view, the price for Brent crude oil will likely stay below $80 per barrel for the rest of the year.
The price for Brent crude oil, the global benchmark, hit its high mark for the year so far on May 22 when it closed at $80.4 per barrel. The run to $80, a multi-year high, was triggered in part by the U.S. decision to leave a multilateral nuclear agreement that allows Iranian oil to flow through the global market.
Brent was trading near $74 per barrel today. Igor Sechin, the CEO of Rosneft, said on July 22 his company's budget is based on $63 per barrel. «I think oil prices will stay within this range: from $75 to maximum $80 per barrel,» he was quoted by Tass.
Russia is party to an effort steered by the OPEC to balance the market with coordinated controls on production and the largest non-member state contributor. After late May considerations of more oil on the market erased $6 per barrel from the price for Brent, Sechin said oil prices would likely be supported still by impending U.S. sanctions on Iran.
Spare capacity, what producers can add to the market in relatively short order, is at a premium, though parties to the OPEC arrangement in June agreed to ease back on compliance in order to keep oil flowing.
If the market needs more oil, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said members of OPEC, plus non-members state contributors, will «take a required decision.» The minister suggested Russia could add about 175,000 barrels of oil per day in the 2nd half of the year.
Author: Daniel J. Graeber
