Rosneft CEO sees oil prices returning to $60 by 2021

MOSCOW, Mar 23 (PRIME) – The oil prices will rise to U.S. $60 per barrel by the end of 2020, Russian oil producer Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin told reporters on March 20.

"I think that they can rise and return to the level of $60 by the end of the year. If the processes continue, shale oil will quit the market," Sechin said.

"Information that some shale oil producing assets quit the market has appeared. This process has begun. The current price does not allow us to produce shale oil efficiently. So the market will adjust, I think, we will see the changes towards a more stable, better trend, in half a year," the CEO said.

He told channel Rossiya 24 that the oil market is in crisis due to the spread of coronavirus, political and sanctions factors. "The fluctuations to such a low level bring no great joy but they are not something to be overdramatized about," he said and added that Rosneft was ready for such a slump.

The operating expenditures of Rosneft are comparable with those of Saudi Aramco's but Rosneft is not involved in dumping. "Ours (operating expenditures) are $3.1 per barrel of produced oil, they have about $2.5–2.8. So we can work calmly, efficiently. Besides we are not dumping unlike them, that’s why our efficiency could be higher than theirs," he said.

According to Sechin, the OPEC plus agreement has lost the importance and other factors are affecting the oil market balance, but Russia needs to keep in contact with OPEC, while receiving mutual benefits in the current conditions. Russia's goal is to retain its market share, "If you cede your share, you will never return. This is the point."

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