ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, June 6 (Reuters) - The closure of

the Strait of Hormuz, an important conduit for global oil and

natural gas exports, is an attempt to change global energy

market regulation in the interests of the United States, Igor

Sechin, head of Russia's largest oil producer, Rosneft

, said on Saturday.

Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum,

Sechin, a long-standing ally of President Vladimir Putin, also

said that the OPEC+ group of leading oil producers has lost some

of its potential with the withdrawal of the United Arab Emirates

from the alliance.

(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin and Olesya Astakhova; editing

by Guy Faulconbridge )