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Russian oil firms overproducing by 10 percent: officials
AFP
MOSCOW
Petroleumworld.com 12 09 06Oil firms in Russia are overproducing by more than 10 percent and officials will take measures to stop them, Natural Resources Minister Yury Trutnev and Prosecutor General Yury Chaika said Friday.
"Over 10 percent of the oil produced in Russian is extracted above the norms set in the project planning documents," leading to far less efficient oil production over the past 20 years, Trutnev said.
"In part this is a consequence of declining quality work by government authorities," and is one of several problems in the industry "doing significant harm to the Russian economy," Trutnev said.
The chief prosecutor promised that unauthorized overproduction would be remedied by whatever means necessary.
"We are unquestionably going to react," Chaika said. "This means presenting demands that the violations be eliminated, protests against the actions of those responsible, and if necessary, opening criminal cases."
Exports of Russian oil and oil products have soared under President Vladimir Putin, from 4.1 million barrels per day in 2000 to over seven million bpd currently, but analysts say the rise has come in part from overproduction at aging wells.
AFP 08 1603 GMT 12 06
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