Desperate move by Russian Rosneft

The Russian oil giant Rosneft has reduced oil production, citing the continuous drop in prices of that energy as the reason.

Rosneft's press release states that the company reduced daily production by 25.000 barrels due to market conditions, reports Agence France-Presse, and adds that this reduction did not help the rise in oil prices on global raw material markets.

Rosneft's latest announcement comes after the company's CEO Igor Sechin met in Vienna with officials from Mexico and OPEC members, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, which is just a prelude to a key OPEC meeting tomorrow.

Oil futures are mixed today amid speculation that OPEC will maintain current production levels at this week's meeting despite excess global supplies.

A barrel of American "light" oil (WTI) for January delivery fell two cents to $74,07 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while a barrel of Brent North Sea oil for January delivery rose nine cents to $78,42 on the London market. XNUMX dollars, reports the France Presse agency.

Oil prices have fallen by 30 percent since June as a result of large inventories, a strong dollar and concerns about the decline in demand for energy products in the global economy.

"At this moment, the outcome of the OPEC meeting is unexpected. After the meeting of individual OPEC members and Russia, which did not result in any concrete measures regarding production cuts, oil prices came under pressure," said the analyst of the Singaporean company "Philip futures", Daniel Ang.

Members of the oil cartel and Russia held talks yesterday ahead of the key meeting of OPEC on Thursday. After the meeting, the Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rafael Ramirez, said that all parties are of the opinion that the current price of oil "is not good".

Tomorrow's OPEC meeting is one of the most important for the organization in recent years, as oil-producing countries come under increasing pressure to cut production due to falling oil prices. Crude oil prices have fallen by 30 percent since June, to a four-year low, as a result of large inventories, a strong dollar and concerns about the decline in demand for energy products in the global economy.