The sharp drop in the oil price, which has lost more than 40 percent since its peak in the summer, may be because the US and some of other huge oil exporters are interested in that happening, President Putin said.
"Now we are all witnessing a decline in energy prices. There are all sorts of conversations on why this is happening. Either there’s some kind of a plot by Saudi Arabia and the US to punish Iran or influence the economy of Russia, Venezuela, and so on. It may be or it may be not,” he said.
“Maybe it is a struggle between the traditional producers of raw materials and shale oil. We cannot say for sure.”
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If the price level remains low for a long time, companies will stop investing in difficult to develop deposits and new oil fields. He believes falling oil prices could eventually bounce back so hard that even industrialized countries would fully feel it. Putin believes many understand it.
“Our Chinese friends also understand it, they are not interested in oil prices dropping too low and remaining there for a long time," he said.
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