Low oil prices could push Russia to curb new fields

MOSCOW, Feb 20 (Reuters) – Russia will consider linking the launch of new oil deposits to global crude prices, a policy that would allow oil firms to store up reserves and cut exploration budgets in times of low prices.

The proposal was made at a Feb. 12 meeting of government officials and oil executives in the refining town of Kirishi, the minutes of which were seen by Reuters on Friday.

After a decade of growth, Russian oil production declined 0.9 percent last year and the government is pinning its hopes on a new generation of projects in the relatively unexplored regions of East Siberia and the Arctic to keep output rising.

Reuters UK