Novak steps down as Russian energy minister

Russia's long-serving energy minister Alexander Novak, who oversaw the country's participation in the Opec+ agreement, is stepping down after more than eight years in the post.

Prime minister Mikhail Mishustin has proposed that Novak move into a deputy prime minister role, and he has recommended Nikolai Shulginov, the chairman of state-controlled hydro-power company RusHydro, as Novak's replacement.

Novak's departure from the energy ministry is part of a wider reshuffle in which natural resources minister Dmitry Kobylkin and transport minister Yevgeny Ditrikh will also step down.

Novak took up the energy minister's post in May 2012. He has played a key role in managing Russia's co-operation in the Opec+ production restraint agreements. Before taking the energy minister job, Novak worked in Russia's finance ministry.

By Anastasia Krasinskaya