The Russian Energy Minister, Nikolai Shulgin, announced that the price of oil may rise to 150 dollars per barrel, despite the fact that the current geopolitical and economic situation hinders the development of expectations. He added that the current state of uncertainty hinders expectations, especially taking into account the unconstructive behaviour of Western countries.

Speaking to Izvestia newspaper, Shulgin said: “It is possible that the oil price ranges between 80 and 150 dollars per barrel, but our task is not limited to guessing how much the oil will cost, but to ensure the continued operation of the oil industry.” At the same time, he stressed Russia’s readiness to export oil and its products to friendly countries at any cost.
On the other hand, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that attempts to put a ceiling on the price of Russian oil may lead to a “glitch” in the market and push prices further up. Some Russian planners also called for reducing production by 20-30% to 7-8 million barrels per day to secure a better price and preserve resources for the future instead of pumping a lot now and selling at a reduced price.

It is worth noting that Russia slightly increased its oil production to 10.17 million barrels per day during the month of May 2022, but production is still about one million barrels per day lower than the levels it was before the West imposed sanctions on Moscow, which led to some buyers delaying or refusing to buy Russian oil due to Penalties