Russia oil output hit post-Soviet record in 2015: Data
Top oil producer Russia pumped a record 534 million tonnes of crude oil last year in 2015 despite oil price slump blamed on a global supply glut, the country's Energy Ministry says.
Russia’s 2015 oil and gas condensate production grew 1.4% year-on-year, with output hitting 10.73 mb/d, a post-Soviet record, according to data released by Interfax news agency.
The Energy Ministry had forecast production to fall to 525 million tonnes in 2015 due to the exhaustion of mature oilfields in Western Siberia, which supply more than half of Russia’s total oil output.
In recent months, Russia’s oil-dependent economy has been battered by a slide in oil prices and Western sanctions over Moscow’s alleged role in the Ukraine crisis.
Russia’s oil production in the current year is expected to reach a new post-Soviet yearly average high of 10.78 mb/d despite price falls as new fields come online.
In 2015, Russia’s medium-sized producer Rosneft exported 97.477 million tones of oil while Lukoil exported 22.627 million tones.
Moreover, Surgutneftegas exported 29.887 million tonnes, Gazprom Neft 7.851 million tonnes and Tatneft 10.441 million tonnes.
“All states, including OPEC countries, have concentrated on increasing their output and turning out as much oil as possible not to lose their market niches, not taking note that they are driving prices down,” energy consultant Mikhail Krutikhin said, adding that Russia is also “following this path.”
Russia’s Central Bank has predicted that if oil prices remain at their current level, gross domestic product (GDP) could shrink 2 percent in 2016.
Russia’s annual budget for 2016 had been calculated on the basis of an oil price of $50 per barrel.
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