Russian oil boss Sechin declares Opec effectively extinct
The head of Russia's biggest oil firm declared the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) effectively extinct.
Igor Sechin, a close ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin, told Reuters that internal strife is killing the cartel and its ability to steer the oil market has all but evaporated.
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Russia had been expected to take part in a production freeze deal with Opec and other oil producers in Doha earlier this year, but the talks were derailed by tensions between regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia.
The deal was intended to prop up oil prices which fell from over $110 per barrel in the middle to 2014 to below $30 in January. They're currently hovering around $44 due to supply disruptions as a result of the Canadian wildfires.
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"At the moment a number of objective factors exclude the possibility for any cartels to dictate their will to the market. … As for Opec, it has practically stopped existing as a united organisation," Sechin said.
"The company (Rosneft) was sceptical from the very beginning about the possibility of reaching any sort of joint agreement with Opec's involvement in current conditions."