Although some oil producing countries, especially members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), cut back production to maintain higher prices, Russia, which is not an OPEC member, is content to sell all the oil it can produce. This helps to explain the disparity between Russia’s rank in exports versus proven reserves. However, its prices depend, of course, on world petroleum prices. Because of fierce competition in the global oil industry, even control of such vast supplies is no guarantee that Russia can sell its output at an acceptable margin. Additionally, Russia depends on oil exports to pay for imports (over half of which include machinery and transportation equipment), a top priority for the Russian government for three primary reasons: