Official: Russia may cut oil output if prices stay low for long

GORKI, Moscow Region, Jan 26 (PRIME) -- Russian companies can keep oil output at the current level for some time but they can reduce it if low prices remain for long, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said Tuesday.

“Under our estimates, in the current situation, in the current system and bearing in mind the proposals to adjust the taxation system, I mean the tax on the financial result primarily, we can sustain output at the existing level. But if prices remain at a low level for a long time, a certain decrease is possible,” Dvorkovich said.

He said that the government cannot control oil output.

Dvorkovich also said that the government will base its anti-crisis plan on a U.S. $20–40 per barrel oil price.

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