Oil production in Russia reached a new record level in the post-Soviet period. According to the OPEC report, Russian production in October exceeded the September figures by 50 thousand barrels per day and amounted to 11.6 million barrels per day.

At the same time, according to the Central Dispatching Office of the Fuel and Energy Complex (CDU TEK), the average daily oil production in Russia in October increased by 4.4% year on year and by 0.4% compared to the previous month to 11.412 million barrels per day.

OPEC also raised its forecast for the production of liquid hydrocarbons in Russia in 2018 from 11.19 million to 11.24 million barrels per day, and next year from 11.19 million to 11.24 million barrels per day also.

It is worth noting that the previous record was set in September, when production amounted to 1.54-1.55 million tons. Bloomberg then estimated production even higher - 1.553 million tons, or 11.38 million barrels per day. As the agency notes, a significant increase in Russian production was provided primarily by Rosneft.

Earlier, the head of the Ministry of Energy of Russia Alexander Novak reported that Russian oil production would reach its maximum in 2021 with an indicator of 570 million tons. And further, if measures are not taken to stimulate it, the Minister of Energy predicts that oil production would begin to decline.

The head of Rosgeology JSC, Roman Panov, agrees with him: “At the meeting, the government recently discussed that out of the projected 590 million tons, which are incorporated in the Energy Strategy project by 2035, we will at best see about 420-410 million tons of production.”

“And the main volume is eliminated in the future due to the depletion of existing fields in Western Siberia and a decrease in the level of production there from the current 300 million tons per year to 180 million or even to 146 million tons per year,” Panov said. In this regard, the head of Rosgeology considers it necessary to take urgent measures to restore the mineral and raw material base.

Source: Rusmininfo    l    KeyFacts Energy Industry Directory: Rusmininfo