Report: Rosneft CEO sees average oil price at $40–43/bbl in 2018

MOSCOW, Sep 11 (PRIME) -- The average oil price will amount to U.S. $40–43 per barrel in 2018 as it is highly influenced by the U.S. financial instruments, Russia’s oil major Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin said on Monday in an interview with television channel Rossiya 24.

“According to a preliminary analysis, I think that next year we will have prices in a $40–43 (per barrel) range,” he said.

“One of the most considerable factors influencing the prices in addition to shale oil production is the U.S. financial instruments. The U.S. dollar has devaluated about 20%. If you adjust corresponding coefficients, you could see that in the U.S., the real price is somewhere around $40 (per barrel),” he said.

He also said that an oil output reduction deal of OPEC and non-OPEC states is another factor to form the oil price, but so far it is unclear whether the agreement is to be prolonged after March 2018.

“We need to take plans and budgets of major market players into account. An example, Saudi Aramco is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO), so it is interested in high prices, at least for a period to draw investors. I believe we need to take it into consideration, whether they are ready for an IPO, whether they get into it or back off,” Sechin said.

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