Russia and Norway Confirm Commitment to Coordinated Petroleum Policy

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov announced at a meeting with journalists in St. Petersburg that Russia and Norway have confirmed their mutual commitment to the coordination of their petroleum policies. The current mutual work between the countries, neither of whom are members of the Organisation of Petroleum-Exporting Countries (OPEC), will continue. The first meeting between the Russian and Norwegian ministers for energy took place two months ago.

At the same time, the Russian Prime Minister said that petroleum policy in Russia and OPEC strongly influence one another. In forming policy on petroleum, information is exchanged and predictions and valuations for the future are compared. He also said that Russia does not intend to sharply increase the volume of petroleum it exports. According to Kasyanov, Russia's extraction of petroleum is steadily increasing as a result of the the increased demand for energy resources both in the Russian Federation and in the world market.