Russian Oil Official Not Worried About Production
A top government official shrugged off concerns about Russia’s stagnating oil output, saying several new fields are expected to come on stream by the end of the year.
Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin — chairman of state-owned oil major Rosneft — told a briefing that he was “not worried” about the decline in Russia’s oil output in the first half of this year, adding that industry tax cuts would help shore up production.
Russian oil production fell this year for the first time in years, as oil companies struggled under the burden of crippling oil taxes, which they claimed prevented them from investing in new exploration to offset declining output in mature fields in West Siberia.
In the first quarter of this year, crude production fell 0.3 percent compared to the same quarter the previous year, said Sechin.
