Igor Sechin led the Russian delegation at Wednesday's meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Algeria.
"As you know, Russia shares first-second place with Saudi Arabia in terms of crude production, so we should develop this cooperation in a natural manner. The form this takes should vary, from observation to membership," Sechin told journalists.
Sechin, who oversees Russia's fuel and energy sector in the government, said earlier in the day Russia was ready to be a permanent observer at the world's oil cartel. He added that the Russian Energy Ministry and the OPEC secretariat would form a joint working group to develop a coordinated approach with a view to solving the key problems facing the global oil industry.
"We believe that granting Russia permanent observer status at OPEC will assist closer coordination," the Russian premier added.
Russia, which accounts for over 10% of global oil output, has so far attended OPEC meetings as an observer.
Sechin also urged a boost in dialogue between oil and gas producing countries, and said natural gas exporting countries would formalize relations at a forum in Moscow on December 23.
"This work is similar to that handled by OPEC, but I would like to stress that we are not speaking of a conspiracy. We seek to protect the interests of [gas] producing countries and coordinate their activity," he said.
Members of the 12-nation oil cartel are invited to attend, Sechin said.
