UPDATE: Russia’s Lukoil may cut ‘16 investments by 21% if oil price at $20

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DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 21 (PRIME) -- Russian oil major Lukoil may cut its 2016 investment program by about 21% to U.S. $5.5 billion under a stress scenario where the oil price plunges to $20 per barrel, CEO Vagit Alekperov told reporters Thursday.

“The stress scenario implies that we cut the investment program by $1.5 billion more from $7 billion (encompassed by the baseline scenario),” he said.

But he said that oil prices may start to grow in July–December. “The tendency for the oil price to grow is maintained in the second half of the year,” he said.

Lukoil’s stress scenario also includes the ruble’s exchange rate of 80 rubles per U.S. dollar in January–June besides the oil price of $20 per barrel, Alekperov said in an interview to Rossiya 24 television channel. Still, the company has kept its forecast of the average annual oil price of $50 per barrel in 2016, he added.

According to the ICE exchange, the Brent oil futures for March dropped 0.613% to $27.71 per barrel as of 2.10 p.m. Moscow time.

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