Still pumping: in Russia
Russian oil supply takes a dip
Russian oil supply in the first quarter of the year averaged 10 million barrels per day, a 90,000 bpd drop on the same period in 2007 and the first year-on-year fall this decade, the International Energy Aagency (IEA) said today.
For 2008, Russian oil production is forecast to show growth of only 80,000 bpd, compared with an average of 2.5% in the last three years and double-digit growth earlier in the decade, the IEA said in its monthly market report.
But the agency cautioned the year-on-year comparison was distorted by unusually mild weather during the previous winter that minimised seasonal shutdowns at production sites.
Others factors that could limit output in 2008 include fiscal reform, which will raise the production tax threshold from $9 to $15 a barrel from 2009, as well as an expected drop in output from the Sakhalin 1 project.
The IEA's estimates of Russian oil production include crude oil, condensates, natural gas liquids and oil from non-conventional sources, Reuters said.
Net oil exports from the former Soviet Union rose by 130,000 bpd in February as a significant monthly rise in product exports offset a drop in crude exports.
Product exports rose by 235,000 bpd in February from a downwardly-revised January, while record high distillate prices in Europe provided an incentive for former Soviet Union refiners to maximise gasoil exports.
Net exports from former Soviet Union producers in March are expected to have risen by up to 100,000 bpd, boosted by a recovery in volumes shipped from the port of Primorsk.
For former Soviet Union demand, the IEA has revised its methodology to improve the reliability of data.
The region's total oil product demand is now estimated at 4.1 million bpd in 2007, up 0.9% year-on-year, and it is expected to reach 4.2 million bpd in 2008, up 1.6%, driven by strong demand from Russia, Reuters added.