The Russian government estimated the cost of oil in 2009 at 40 dollars per barrel.

The Government of Russia at the economic meeting on Jan. 14, 2009 approved a new macroeconomic forecast, which carries crude oil price of 40 dollars per barrel. This writes the newspaper Vedomosti. As expected, the details of the document will be released January 19, the Bureau of Government.
Variants predictive value of oil was seen a few. In particular, the budget committee, First Deputy Igor Shuvalov government as the basic version of the proposed cost of oil at 30 dollars per barrel. Recall that, according to the Ministry of Economic Development, promulgated in mid-December 2008, the cost of oil in 2009 would be 50 dollars per barrel. At a meeting in Gorky, Russian officials have called the forecast unlikely.
As the macroeconomic outlook was laid lower the cost of oil, it is possible that the costs of the budget could be reduced by more than 15 percent, say Vedomosti. The truth will not be affected by the reduction of expenditure such as national and social projects.
It is not excluded that in the total costs, even after the reduction of expenditure items, will still increase. This happens because of the rising costs to maintain the economy in the global financial crisis. For example, some 500 billion can be spent on assistance to the region.
On the economic meeting was also considered the option of macroeconomic forecasting, which in 2009 stagflyatsiyu (low GDP growth rates and high inflation). Under this option, the economy of Russia in the current year to decline by 2 per cent, while inflation stood at 15 percent.
Recall that the cost of oil starting in January 2008, almost continuously increased and reached record high of 147 dollars per barrel in July. Since then, oil prices declined and by mid-January 2009 fell to 36 dollars per barrel. Oil revenues are one of the most important articles of the Russian budget. Largely because of the reduction in the cost of oil in November 2008, the Russian Ministry of Finance budget recorded a deficit of 270 billion rubles.