End to US oil export ban should not affect market: Russian minister

[MOSCOW] Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said the United States' decision to lift a ban on oil exports should not affect the global oil market. "This should not affect the market, this country (the United States) is an importer, it needs to buy oil on the market itself," Mr Novak told reporters.

The US Congress voted earlier this month to repeal the 40-year-old ban on exporting US crude oil. Congress, concerned about US dependence on imported oil, imposed the crude oil export ban after the Arab oil embargo of the early 1970s.

Mr Novak also said that Russian oil firms were examining stress scenarios for an oil price of US$30-$35 a barrel and that Russian preliminary oil output in 2015 was at around 533 million tonnes.

REUTERS