Russian oil output in April edges down to 10.86 mln bpd

Russian oil output has risen significantly since 2000.  Photo credit: REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin

MOSCOW, April 29 (Reuters) – Russian oil output edged lower in April 1-28 to 10.86 million barrels per day (bpd) from a record 10.91 million in March, two sources close to the Energy Ministry told Reuters on Friday.

The preliminary statistics show Russia is determined to keep oil output high after the world’s leading crude producers failed to clinch a deal to freeze output to support weak crude prices.

The sources said seasonal maintenance at oilfields and refineries brought production down.

Production still running above the 2015 average of 10.73 million bpd, however, which was the highest yearly output for nearly three decades.

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Russian oil output has repeatedly surprised on the upside over the past decade, rising from as low as 6 million bpd at the turn of the millennium. Oil experts have repeatedly predicted a decline but it has yet to happen.

Official data for April is due to be published on May 2.

(Reporting by Olesya Astakhova; writing by Vladimir Soldatkin; editing by Jack Stubbs and David Clarke)