Russia pursues market share as OPEC flirtation ends

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia is no longer a welcome guest of OPEC after boosting its production to levels far above those pumped by the group’s biggest exporter, Saudi Arabia, and snatching away market share.

After flirting with OPEC when a barrel of oil cost less than $40, Moscow has once more set its course on raising production to support an economy entering its first recession in a decade, leaving OPEC to shoulder the burden of record output cuts.

“OPEC members have cut almost 4 million barrels per day in order to subsidize the Russian oil industry and economy to the tune of about $150 million per day,” said Chris Weafer, chief strategist at UralSib investment bank.

“This is unlikely to sit well with OPEC member countries.”

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, meeting on Thursday in Vienna, is expected to leave output unchanged as it pins its hopes on a sustained oil price rally in defiance of swollen stocks and reduced demand.

Reuters