TEHRAN: Russia's energy minister Alexander Novak said on Saturday the best way to address the imbalance in the world oil market was to leave supply and demand to even out in the long term.
"Today's market situation is very difficult and supply exceeds demand," he said.
"The best possible and efficient way to balance out the situation of the market which will be useful for the longer term is to let the supply and demand even out using market tools."
"Today, production volumes do not grow at the rate they used to, there is an even reduction of production volumes ... it might take a while before the market balances itself," he said.
Novak also said the next meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC experts was expected to be in mid-December.
Asked about Saudi Arabia and Russia targeting the same export markets and if, as a result, Russia needed to adjust its supply policy to become more competitive, Novak said:
"It's not up to the energy ministry but up to the oil companies to supply their crude based on long- and short-term contracts and economic experience."
"The market situation defines the flows ... taking into account traditional ties," he said.
Novak was speaking on the sidelines of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) Summit in the Iranian capital, Tehran.
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