Russia crude production neared a post-Soviet record in February as TNK-BP, the venture owned by BP Plc and a group of billionaires, raised output at new fields in both western and eastern Siberia. Crude production reached almost 10.08 million barrels a day, a gain of 3.3 percent from a year earlier and 0.2 percent from the previous month, according to preliminary data from the Energy Ministry’s CDU-TEK unit. Output, which has exceeded 10 million barrels a day for six months in a row, was slightly below November’s record.
Oil exports slumped to 5.21 million barrels a day, down 1.3 percent from January and 5.7 percent on the year, as the export tax climbed following the price of Urals, Russia’s benchmark blend. TNK-BP boosted output to 1.42 million barrels day after ramping up new projects, such as the Uvat and Kamennoye fields in western Siberia and Verkhnechonsk in the east. Production advanced 4.5 percent from a year earlier and 0.5 percent from the previous month, not including its OAO Slavneft venture.
