Russia 2009 oil output hits new high after 2008 blip

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian oil output grew by around 1.5 percent in 2009 to a new post-Soviet high, putting the world’s largest crude producer on an upward trend again after a 2008 blip, when production fell for the first time in a decade.

Energy ministry data showed on Saturday the country extracted 9.925 million barrels per day last year, a record since the collapse of the Soviet Union, up from 9.78 million bpd in 2008 and 9.87 million bpd in 2007.

The resumption in growth came as a surprise. At the end of 2008 analysts had largely expected the decline to continue due to a lack of new greenfield developments and a sharp drop in crude prices

But as crude prices recovered and oil majors such as Rosneft sped up the development of East Siberian fields to fill Russia’s first pipeline to the Pacific, output outpaced expectations and growth is expected to continue.

Analysts now say Russia will produce 1.1 percent more oil in 2010 as fields in East Siberia pump enough crude to mask a decline in mature deposits further west.

Reuters