Russia aims to push oil prices higher: Expert
Price of crude oil has increased by $6 dollars a barrel since Russia began its operations in Syria last week
ANKARA
Russia is operating in Syria with a view to push oil prices upwards, an expert said Wednesday.
“Oil prices are determined by financial markets rather than by supply and demand,” explained Volkan Ozdemir, head of the Institute for Energy Markets and Policies, EPPEN, in an interview with Anadolu Agency.
Russia is aware of this fact, and therefore could be trying to affect these markets in order to create upward pressure on oil prices, Ozdemir said.
Oil and natural gas sales account for nearly 70 percent of Russia’s total export revenues. With each dollar the price of oil drops, the country loses about $2 billion.
The Kremlin shifted 2016 State Duma elections from December to September, Ozdemir said, possibly because Vladimir Putin’s government might be trying to boost its popularity by improving the economy thanks to higher oil prices within the next 10 months.
The oil price has fallen by more than 40 percent since June 2014, and the Russian economy has shrunk by 3 percent in the first six months of 2015.
Meanwhile the price of crude oil has increased by $6 a barrel since Russia began its operations in Syria last week.
Ozdemir also said Russia seeks to gain ground in Syria, as the region borders on key oil and gas producing countries such as Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
“Russia could control the region in Syria bordering on the Eastern Mediterranean and gain some kind of control over the oil and gas produced in the region,” he added.
According to current estimates, more than 60 percent of the world's proven oil reserves are located in the Middle East.
Last week, Russian warplanes began striking targets inside Syria for the first time. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the strikes targeted Daesh munitions depots, vehicles and communications centers.
