Russia is considering a wide range of scenarios on what to do with a multilateral effort to balance the global oil market, its energy minister said. Russia is the largest contributor to an effort steered by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to balance an oversupplied market that’s not a member of the production group. Energy Minister Alexander Novak told Bloomberg News the deal would stand as long as the five-year average of crude oil inventories held by the world’s leading industrialized nations remained tilted toward a surplus. “As soon as the ultimate goal of our deal is achieved — which is the balancing of the market — we will start considering gradual withdrawal,” he was quoted as saying. Crude oil prices started […]