Mr Sechin said, in part, that the Russian Government considered cooperating with the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) as a foreign economic priority, and proposed developing regular energy dialogues between Russia and OPEC.
"Russia's stance in the energy sphere is absolutely open," the Deputy Prime Minister said. "It is based on the principles of predictability, responsibility, mutual trust, and respect for the interests of producers, consumers, and transit countries... To this end, we are prepared to continue dialogue with all partner countries and, of course, leading international associations such as OPEC."
According to Mr Sechin, a stronger global energy security "is impossible to imagine without a dialogue between Russia and OPEC, without the cooperation of these key players on the global energy field."
The Deputy Prime Minister said Russia's stance on the global oil market is "very strong."
"With an oil output of some 10 million barrels per day, we share the first and second places with our colleagues from Saudi Arabia," he said. Mr Sechin said the Russian oil and gas companies, which are an integral part of the global hydrocarbons industry, were interested in "becoming more closely integrated in the global market through cross-ownership of assets with the leading global energy concerns." "This approach would facilitate the solution of the transit problem," he added.
Mr Sechin also said that investment in oil production in Russia had been very effective in the past few years. "The share of foreign capital in Russian oil and gas companies is as high as 25%," he said, adding that it was a good example of Russian openness. "However, we expect our foreign colleagues to offer us adequate opportunities" in their projects.
The Deputy Prime Minister said: "Russian produces have earned, and highly value, our reputation as reliable energy suppliers... We are building up the volume of hydrocarbon supplies and developing new export routes. We are rapidly developing promising oil provinces in East Siberia and on the continental shelf. We have started building a main pipeline toward the Pacific Ocean. Its first phase will be commissioned already next year."
Pointing to Russia's interest in having a predictable global oil market, Mr Sechin said that problem could be solved only through the concerted efforts of the producer and consumer countries. "While taking measures to stabilise the oil market, Russia, like OPEC, would like to see predictable and transparent factors affecting the market situation, including the new ones the market players have encountered only recently," he said.
Mr Sechin named the most important of these factors, "the emergence of new, large, and rapidly developing oil consuming countries on the global energy markets." "We also see stabilisation of [oil] consumption in industrialised countries," he said.
The Government official also spoke about "unpredictable price fluctuations," saying that a key instrument for tackling this problem could be long-term direct contracts between the main producers and consumers. This would lower the influence of mala fide intermediaries whose activities are economically inexpedient, he said. "Russia's stance on this issue is unequivocal: the international community can and must solve the problem of oil price uncertainty," Mr Sechin said.
On the other hand, interaction with OPEC should not be limited to the elaboration of fair market pricing rules. "We have a much larger potential," he said. "Promising spheres of our cooperation could include implementation of major joint projects involving our oil and gas companies, mutual investments, exchange of modern technologies, and environmental issues."
This is why "we have proposed organising a regular energy dialogue between Russia and OPEC, with the fundamental goal of facilitating lasting stability on the oil market in the interests of all players," the Deputy Prime Minister said.
He added that a corresponding memorandum had already been drafted and would be forwarded to Dr Chakib Khelil, president of the Conference, and OPEC Secretary General Abdullah al-Badri.
"We hope they will show interest in our initiative," Mr Sechin said. He assured OPEC ministers that "Russia has always been and will remain a constructive partner on the global energy market."
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Mr Sechin told journalists during the Conference that annual oil production in Russia in 2008 was expected to be between 495 and 500 million metric tonnes. He said several new deposits would be commissioned soon. "The Verkhnechonskoye oil and gas condensate deposit, which TNK-BP is developing jointly with Rosneft, is almost ready to come on stream," he said.
Replying to questions about the conflict among TNK-BP shareholders, the Deputy Prime Minister said it had been settled. He said both sides worked to settle the conflict, which had been provoked above all by the unsettled structure of shareholder capital. Mr Sechin said there were quite a few positive elements in interaction between the Russian and British sides.