Growth in oil production in Russia may be short

Forecast of oil companies about decline in the production in Russia in 2016 against the background of the falling oil prices and increasing taxes haven’t been justified for a while. The Ministry of Energy expects the production could rise by 1% to 540 million tons and the export by 3.5% to 228 million tons. But experts warn that this is a short-term effect of active investments in the drilling in 2015, which will soon come to naught. Already now the companies little invest in geological exploration, without which growth in the future production is impossible.

The Ministry of Energy expects the oil production in Russia at the level of 537-540 million tons in 2016, the Minister Alexander Novak said. This is by 0.5-1% more than in 2015 (534.2 million tons). As the official specified, in 2016, Russia will retain the average daily production figures at the January level. This corresponds to the Moscow's proposal to freeze the production, which should partially restore the fallen prices of raw materials. The Deputy Minister of Energy Alexei Teksler adds that the oil export from Russia may grow by 3.5% in 2016 (in 2015 - by 10.6% to 220.267 million tons). In the first quarter, according to the Central Dispatch Department of the Fuel and Energy Sector, the oil and gas condensate production increased by 3.1% to 135.424 million tons.