Putin Asks Russian Oil, Gas Firms to Use High Prices to Cut Debt
Oil pumping jacks in an oilfield near Almetyevsk, Tatarstan, Russia
Source: BloombergRussia’s President Vladimir Putin urged nation’s oil and gas producers to take advantage of sky-rocketing commodities prices to reduce their debt, because the spike will be temporary.
With the Strait of Hormuz being “effectively closed” amid the Middle East conflict, oil production relying on the route “risks stopping completely” within a month, Putin said at a meeting with government officials and energy executives. It will take “weeks, if not a month” to restore liquefied natural gas capacity in the region and it’s “impossible to quickly compensate for the lost volumes,” he added.