24 May 2004 16:40
Russia increasing oil production to make the most of high price
New York, 24 May: Russia will keep increasing oil production and oil exports as oil prices on the international
market remain high, Finance Minister Aleksey Kudrin told reporters after the meeting of G8 finance ministers late
night.
"High oil prices may not last long but at the moment this trend is positive for Russia," Kudrin said.
"Russia should use this opportunity to increase output, and sell more oil at higher prices," he added.
He also said that, no matter what happens on the international market, Russian oil output is still expected to
increase 5-10 per cent annually in accordance with the Russian energy strategy.
"I think that the industrialized world is waiting for higher output which may push the prices down," he
said.
Russia's output in the second quarter is expected to total 109.5m tonnes, 7 per cent up on the year. In 2003,
Russia's oil output rose to 412.377m tonnes from 380m tonnes in 2002.
[Prime-TASS news agency] |
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