Russia to continue supplying oil to global markets despite pressure; country has competitive offer - Energy Ministry

MOSCOW. Feb 11 (Interfax) - Russia will continue supplying oil to global markets despite the sanctions pressure, First Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin said at India Energy Week.

"We are pragmatic. We value our relations, and we will continue supplying the market. We have competitive resources from an economic point of view. No matter what pressure is exerted, we will continue to be on the market with a pragmatic approach, leaving politics out of the equation," Sorokin said.

Sorokin did not focus on volumes or delivery methods, emphasizing that the market needs energy resources.

"There is no other oil or energy that could replace this [Russian oil] without forcing the world to bear huge costs. We certainly do not want that. We want a balance between consumers and producers," Sorokin said.

Sorokin stressed that Russia gives the market what it wants, and the market takes what it needs, "and this happens at an acceptable price."

"Therefore, we will continue to operate with this reasoning with anyone who is practical and sensible," he said.

Sorokin stressed that global energy needs are growing, though politics still play a role in supplying energy.

"All these political events, what they have done is raise energy prices, change trade routes and simply create substantial doubts about whether the global legal system could actually sustain itself and whether it could actually help us develop properly," he said.

"Think, more broadly, if one country could be attacked economically in this way [through imposing sanctions], what does that mean for the long-term investments that any country makes elsewhere if there is no legal system to protect it? It just means that your risk premiums are growing for everything. So, energy investment premiums have risen worldwide, and this means that consumers must pay for this," Sorokin said.