Extreme cold across Russia has cut oil output and sparked warnings of power cuts

In the Western Siberian town of Surgut, in Russia’s oil-producing heartland, temperatures have fluctuated between minus 30 and minus 51 degrees Celsius over the past week.

Oil production from the region fell by 200,000 barrels per day between Jan 10-16 as the extreme cold meant oil had frozen some oil wells solid, the Energy Ministry said.
Production traditionally declines in January and February due to the cold. But it has never fallen so sharply in recent years and the plunge could well damage production figures in the longer term.

“It is not as easy as one could think to restart an oil well even after the cold subsides. Sometimes you have to wait until May to fully restart a well,” one industry analyst said.

Reuters