Moscow, May 14 - Neftegaz.RU. Russian oil company Rosneft said today its revenue increased more than 20 % from last year, even as its production levels declined.
The oil company reported Q1 revenue of $30.9 billion, up 0.8 % from the Q4 and 22.1 % higher than the Q1 2017. The company attributed the gain in large part to higher crude oil prices.
The price for Brent crude oil, the global benchmark for the price of oil, was in the $50 per barrel range at this point last year. The average price for Urals crude oil, the Russian benchmark, was up 7.8 % from the Q4 and is 24.8 % higher year-over-year.
Russia is party to an effort by the members of the OPEC to drain the surplus from the 5-year average in global crude oil inventories through coordinated production cuts.
Rosneft reported total production in the Q1 of 4.57 million barrels, a 0.3 % gain from the Q4, but 1.2 % lower than this time last year. The company said production was constrained by its obligations to the OPEC-led agreement.
Commenting on the Q1 results, CEO Igor Sechin said the company improved free cash flow and reduced short-term financial liabilities by 49 %. «Taking into account additional initiatives focused on shareholder value creation and also relatively favorable market conditions we expect further reduction in liabilities and improvement in the shareholder returns,» he said in a statement.
Author: Daniel J. Graeber
