MOSCOW, April 17 (Itar-Tass) — LUKOIL chief Vagit Alekperov is confident that petrol in Russia will always be less expensive than in neighboring countries. “Russia's fuel price will always be lower than in our neighbors’. But if it is lowered artificially, petrol will escape to the neighboring markets,” he told First Channel.
At present, a liter of petrol in Russia is less expensive than a bottle of water in any kiosk, while the most expensive petrol in found in Norway, the largest oil and gas producing country in Europe.
Alekperov also expressed confidence the development of the Russian economy enabled the state to “get out of the national economy, although at the initial stage of Russia’s development in new economic conditions the participation of the state in the capital of large companies was positive and necessary.
He noted that a flexible tax system is required for further development of the oil industry, which is the locomotive for many branches, including metallurgy and machine building. This tax system should take into account the stages of the development of hydrocarbon deposits.