Moscow - Russian oil production reached a record 511 million
tonnes in 2011, but output levels are unlikely to increase further over
the next three years, an official said Saturday.
Sergei Kudriashov, the vice-minister for energy, said
the output level was up by about one percent last year, a record for the
post-Soviet period.
"We understand that in the three coming years, we are
going to have a lull in the operation of new deposits," he said in
comments broadcast on public television station Russia 24. "That's why
the principle task now is to use the resources we have and maximise the
efficiency of work in old deposits."
He estimated Russia would be able to maintain an oil output of about 510 million tonnes for the next three years.
"In 2008, when oil prices were at a high, we saw a drop
in production," he said. "In the last three years, we've succeeded in
reversing the trend."