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Russian oil export to EU does not decline despite interest in Middle East oil — ministry

Several ways exist to compete with Middle East oil in Europe, says Russian Deputy Minister of Energy Anatoly Yanovsky

© Sergei Bobylev/TASS

MOSCOW, November 18. /TASS/. Russian oil supplies to Europe do not decline despite the interest of Europeans in Middle East oil, Deputy Minister of Energy Anatoly Yanovsky said on Wednesday.

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"Certainly, we [the ministry and Russian oil companies - TASS] share opinions; we monitor the market situation. The issue requires special consideration. However, there is a market share and there are absolute volumes - our absolute volumes do not decline." Yanovsky said.

Several ways exist to compete with Middle East oil in Europe, the deputy minister said. "For example, diversification, including the one related to product range. This is exactly why decisions related to development of oil refining and petrochemistry were taken. These decisions were already made several years ago," he added.

TASS reported earlier Poland may sign an unprecedented contract on oil supplies with Saudi Arabia but it is not yet clear when it may occur. Polish PKN Orlen received the lot of 100,000 tonnes of oil from Saudi Arabia early in November. This may be the first step towards a long-term contract between two countries.

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