Russia and China should boost their energy cooperation, including increasing their oil trade, which could lead to the establishment of new benchmarks and raise the two countries’ clout in the market, the head of Rosneft said Thursday. “With oil production growth and respective increase in hydrocarbons trading, we’ll be able to establish new marker blends and impact price setting,” Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin said at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Moscow for a state visit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russia remained China’s top crude oil supplier in 2018, boosting shipments 20% year on year to 1.436 million b/d, according to Chinese customs data. Sechin added that trading in the countries’ currencies would give the ruble and the yuan greater status and reduce the risk of […]