Russia pumped a record 534 million tonnes of crude oil last year, even as it reeled from a fall in oil prices caused by a supply glut, Russian Ministry of Energy ministry data showed on Saturday.
The country’s oil and gas condensate production last year increased 1.4 percent year-on-year, with output reaching 10.73 million barrels per day — a post-Soviet record — according to data cited by Interfax news agency.
The slide in oil prices and Western sanctions over Moscow’s role in the Ukraine crisis have pummeled the oil-dependent Russian economy in recent months.
Photo: EPA
The ruble lost about half of its value in 2014 but recovered slightly as energy prices stabilized last year.
However, the renewed slump in oil prices — with Brent crude falling to an 11-year low last month — casts a shadow on the prospect of economic recovery.
Russia’s central bank predicted that if oil prices remain at their current levels, GDP could shrink 2 percent next year.
At his annual press conference earlier last month Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the country was prepared for any economic situation, despite the volatility in oil prices.
Russia’s budget for next year had been calculated on the basis of an oil price of US$50 per barrel, a figure Putin said was an “optimistic” assessment of the situation, with the price now hovering at about US$37.
Separately, struggling oil producers could suffer even more pain next year with further plunges in already record-low prices, BP PLC chief executive officer Bob Dudley said on Saturday.
“A low point could be in the first quarter,” Dudley told BBC radio.
Oil prices fell by 34 percent last year, battered by prolonged global oversupply and a slowdown in the Chinese economy.
Dudley predicted that prices could stabilize toward the end of the year, but would remain low in the foreseeable future.
Prices have particularly slumped since Dec. 4 when OPEC decided against limiting production as members fight to keep market share.
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