ST. PETERSBURG, June 5 (RIA Novosti) - A reasonable price for oil is at least $75 per barrel, Russia's first deputy prime minister said on Friday adding that production could drop in Russia if the credit crisis persists.
Speaking on the sidelines of the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Igor Sechin said: "We need at least $75 per barrel."
Sechin said "output will not drop in the next few years" thanks to major investment in the industry in previous years, but "an increasingly shrinking access to finances could lead to a decline."
Oil prices plummeted from a record $140 a barrel last July to around $35. Prices have strengthened in the past three months, along with stock markets, rising to above $68 a barrel on Thursday, fueling expectations that crude will continue its rally.
But Sechin said it is not clear so far whether the price hike is a result of fundamental changes in the world economy or market speculation.
Oil has been a major source of revenue for Russia, the largest non-OPEC producer, fueling its almost decade-long economic boom before the global credit crunch hit the country.
