The Russian production figure is for crude and condensates, an ultralight oil that yields a greater proportion of high-value fuels. Production averaged 10.58 million barrels a day for 2014, also a post-Soviet record. Preliminary data, which didn’t reflect shipments by Gazprom Neft and may be revised, showed a decline in exports.
The previous post-Soviet oil production record was 10.64 million barrels a day in October, CDU-TEK data show. It rose above 11.4 million barrels a day in 1987, the Soviet-era peak, data from BP Plc show.
Brent crude, used to price about half of the world’s oil including Russia’s main export blend Urals, gained 0.5 percent today to $57.60 on the ICE Futures Europe exchange at 10:40 a.m. in London. It settled at $57.33 a barrel on Dec. 31, the lowest closing price since May 2009.
