Russia may divert oil to affect price

Russia's top energy official said Wednesday that the nation may set aside an oil reserve to influence global prices - but won't cut output, news reports said.

Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, who is in charge of the energy sector, said the government was considering creating an oil production reserve "which would allow it to work more efficiently with prices on the market."

Sechin would not name the amount of the reserves, but said they should be "enough to reach efficient pricing parameters," Russian news agencies reported.

He confirmed that Russia would not cut oil output, unlike OPEC nations which are expected to slash production by 1 million barrels.

OPEC Secretary General Abdullah al-Badri, in Moscow for talks with Russian officials, said Tuesday that he would not ask Russia to cut oil production as global prices fall. Analysts had said Russia was unlikely to agree to coordinated production cuts, given that it already is battling falling output as West Siberian oil fields mature.

Russia, the largest oil producer outside of the OPEC oil cartel, has seen its stock markets battered in recent weeks on the back of deepening fears of a global recession and plunging oil prices. The price of oil has more than halved since peaking at $147.