Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said in an interview there were no discussions about possible coordination with OPEC on oil output after a failed attempt to jointly maintain production levels earlier this year.
“We do not discuss the issues of coordination of actions between Russia and OPEC… We can’t agree on production cuts as we don’t have such tools and mechanisms,” Novak told Reuters in interview cleared for publication on Wednesday.
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other big oil producers, including Russia, were not able to reach a deal in Doha in April on freezing oil production in order to support falling oil prices.
Global crude oil prices reached a 13-year low of $27 per barrel in January due to oversupply, but have recovered since then to around $50.
The weak price for oil, Moscow’s chief export commodity, hit the Russian economy, which shrank by 3.7 percent last year.
In the interview with Reuters, Novak said Russia sees its cooperation with OPEC focussing on the exchange of information and analysis on the global oil market, rather than on coordinating production.
