No Subsidy Requests From Russian Oil Firms After Extended OPEC Deal - Minister

Russian Energy Minister said that Russian oil companies have not requested subsidies in connection with the extended Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' agreement to cut production.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russian oil companies have not requested subsidies in connection with the extended Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' (OPEC) agreement to cut production, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Monday.

"There are no additional requests because we consider these two tools to be quite important," Novak told reporters.

He said the ministry is in talks on benefits for water-bearing fields and taxes on additional income from hydrocarbon production, but stressed that the discussions are not related to the deal's extension.

In November, the OPEC countries agreed to reduce the oil production by 1.2 million barrels per day in order to stabilize the prices. Following the decision, 11 non-OPEC countries agreed to cut their production by a total of 558,000 barrels per day, including a cut by 300,000 barrels by Russia. On Thursday, the OPEC and non-OPEC countries extended their commitments by nine months until the end of the first quarter of 2018.

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