Russian Oil Output Fell in August, Continuing Decline

(Bloomberg) — Russia’s oil production declined in August as companies struggled with costs and maturing fields, bringing the world’s second-largest crude exporter closer to its first annual drop in output since 1998.

Production fell to 9.82 million barrels of crude a day (41.5 million metric tons a month), 0.9 percent less than a year earlier, according to figures released by the Energy Ministry’s CDU-TEK unit.


“We probably won’t get more oil produced this year than last year,” Artyom Konchin, an oil and gas analyst at UniCredit SpA, said by phone in Moscow. “By the end of the year, however, we should see a gain in the daily output rate because of new projects.”

Production in Russia’s oil heartland of western Siberia is flagging as older fields mature, and companies are investing in harder-to-reach regions in search of growth. In July, parliament approved tax breaks urged by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to spur investment in national production, which rose 0.4 percent in August compared with July to the highest level this year.

Bloomberg