MOSCOW, November 28. /TASS/. Russia’s Economic Development Ministry will lower its oil price forecast for 2015, Economic Development Minister Alexey Ulyukayev said on Friday.

The price of $80 per barrel is quite probably an equilibrium price but other scenarios are also possible, he said.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided at its meeting in Vienna on Thursday to keep the oil cartel’s production levels unchanged, which sent Brent crude prices below $70 per barrel.

“OPEC’s decision was expected,” Ulyukayev said. “We spoke about this before.”

An expert study and oil price forecasts are quite a complex thing, the economic development minister said.

“If we look at how forecasts are changed, this is normally done by extrapolating the current situation and they are revised quite frequently.”

“In this situation, it is quite probable to speak about an equilibrium price of closer to $80 per barrel but no one will give an exact figure now and we need to prepare for any scenario,” Ulyukayev said.

Russia adopted its budget for next year based on an oil price of $96 per barrel. Oil and gas exports account for about 50% of Russia’s revenues.

Russia’s Economic Development Ministry will certainly “revise down its price outlook but I can’t say now how much it will be revised,” Ulyukayev said.