Putin has leveraged oil producers to such an extent that producers are loosing money if oil drops below about $85 per barrel they start loosing money! “... Urals blend is now priced in Rotterdam at $88 per barrel. With the Primorsk FOB Urals price (ex-freight, clearing fees and port charges) at about $86/bbl, Russian companies are paying $68/bbl in export duties and another $17.40/bbl in oil extraction taxes. That results in more than $85/bbl being paid into the treasury in these two taxes alone...” http://fredfryinternational.blogspot.com/2008/09/only-in-russia-oil-producers-losing.html
Pootie has a very big problem is the producers stop producing!
It couldn't have happened to a nicer thug.
And Brent Spot is at $87/bbl. Which means that Putie's choices will be to either lower the rate that the Russian treasury gets from oil, or see the revenues stop entirely as the industry shuts down production. And oil is the main source of Russian foreign exchange right now.
From the CIA Factbook:
Oil, natural gas, metals, and timber account for more than 80% of exports and 30% of government revenues, leaving the country vulnerable to swings in world commodity prices.Russia exports 5M bbl/day of oil, representing (5 * 365 * $85 =) $155B/year in tax revenue.