MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to the report, in 2016 Russian oil production increased by 230,000 barrels per day, and "sustained production at current record levels would result in growth of nearly 200 kb/d [killobarrels per day] next year."
The IEA pointed out that growing output was stipulated by increased oil production by Gazprom Neft, in particular due to the launch of its Novy Port and Messoyakha projects.
"Ministry data showed the largest increase stemmed from Gazprom Neft, which lifted output by 120 kb/d [killobarrels per day] over the past twelve months to 815 kb/d supported by the launch of its Novy Port project in May and the start-up of Messoyakha in September," the report said.
Other Russian giants like Rosneft, Novatek and LUKoil have reportedly also increased their production.
The IEA stressed that Russian companies had to review their policies due to the weakened currency, which led to increased spending.
"With service costs mainly in rubles, companies have been focusing on increasing drilling and raising efficiency through reduced drilling times and increasing the share of horizontal wells which now account for more than 30% of the total," the report said.
The IEA report was issued ahead of the OPEC summit in Vienna scheduled for November 30.
The OPEC countries are set to finalize the agreement on oil output freeze at the OPEC summit in Vienna on November 30. Other oil producing states, who are not members of OPEC, including Russia, are also expected to uphold the agreement, aimed at stabilizing the oil market.
