Russian and GCC Perspectives: OPEC, Russia, and falling oil prices

... trustworthiness, OPEC and the GCC countries are uncertain about the Russian government’s ability to control Russian oil production, due to the privatization of Russian oil companies after the collapse of the Soviet Union. While not as numerous as US shale oil producers, Russia’s oil companies have boards that answer to shareholders who might not wish to accede to the wishes of the central government. In fact, OPEC oil producers would be forgiven for expecting that Russian President Vladimir Putin would use this ...