Moscow (Platts)--25Sep2008

Russia wants to use its position as a major oil producer to exert
influence on world oil prices and expects to prepare proposals on how it can
be "more actively engaged" in global oil markets by OPEC's December meeting,
which it will attend as an observer, energy minister Sergei Shmatko said
Thursday.

"Russia must deal [more] actively with issues of influencing the level of
crude prices. A Russian factor must appear," Shmatko said in Russia's Far
Eastern Kamchatka region, as reported by Prime-Tass news agency.

Shmatko said Russia as "a big and respectable power" should develop its
own approach to the issue, especially given the latest fluctuations in oil
prices on international markets.

"We believe we occupy such a significant position in the global oil
community that a Russian factor, and maybe not a single one, should appear,"
Shmatko said.

"We believe we have to be more actively engaged in the markets," he said.

Shmatko said that Russia could exert an influence through oil output
forecast or perhaps by reserving some fields for future development, the
report said.

Because of climate conditions, Russia's oil producers "cannot just close
fields and then re-open them at any time," the minister said.

"But we can express our opinion via forecasts," he said. Additionally, he
said, the idea of reserving potential fields "is very interesting."

Shmatko insisted, however, that although Russia was aiming to develop its
proposals by OPEC's December 17 meeting in Oran, Algeria, "these will not be
joint actions with OPEC."

Russia is the world's second biggest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia.
--Nadia Rodova, nadia_rodova@platts.com