Oil prices have plunged more than 60% from their peak of $110 per barrel in June 2014 amid fears that the global oil production was outpacing global demand. “In current conditions, the price of $40-$60 is probably the price which would be normal for both forming the budget and normal operation of the industry,” Novak told the NTV television channel in an interview, Sputnik News reported. In February, the energy ministers of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Venezuela and Russia discussed the current oil market situation in Doha and agreed to freeze oil production at January levels in a bid to keep oil prices from falling further. However, on Sunday, participants of the meeting in the Qatari capital failed to reach an agreement on freezing oil output. Russia is considering raising its oil production this year and a level of 540 million tons of crude is “quite realistic”, Russian Deputy Energy Minister Kirill Molodtsov told reporters on Tuesday. Russia produced 534 million tons of oil last year.
