RUSSIA: OIL PRODUCTION RISES BY NEARLY 10 PERCENT
Russian oil production increased by 9.9 percent in the year to April to 36.9 million tons, ITAR-TASS reported. Yukos
was the country's leading producer, pumping just over 7 million tons, followed by LUKoil, Surgutneftegaz, TNK-BP,
Sibneft, and Tatneft. "Komsomolskaya pravda" reported on 6 May that Russian oil companies have already earned
nearly $7 billion in profits so far this year. The daily cited oil-industry experts as saying that in response to
government plans to impose higher export duties on oil when world energy prices are high, oil companies will raise the
domestic price of gasoline. Other experts told the daily that the new export duties might also force small producers to
sell their oil to the oil giants rather than exporting it themselves, thus further strengthening the market position of
the oil majors. RC Copyright (c) 2004. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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RUSSIA IN FACTS
