President Vladimir Putin said in May 10 that Russia, as a leading oil exporting nation, should establish its own oil exchange to trade crude and petroleum products in rubles. The Economic Development and Trade Ministry said it would submit to the government proposals on rules and procedures for trading oil products on domestic commodity exchanges by the end of July.
"I do not believe that the oil exchange will open this or even next year," Anatoly Gavrilenko said, adding there were too many obstacles to the project, including what he described as armchair management and wishful thinking.
He said it was an illusion that the oil market would take care of itself.
"Nothing will work out without the state," he said.
He also said producers were not interested in seeing the project succeed.
"The interests of the national investment community and the state are diverging more and more," he said.
On June 8, the Russian Trading System, the country's premier stock market, started trading in ruble-denominated futures for oil and oil products, in line with President Vladimir Putin's proposal.
