Production of oil and gas condensate in Russia reached in 2015 roughly 534 million metric tons (nearly 10.72 million bpd), 1.4% higher than in 2014, and production will not diminish this year, says the Russian Minister of Energy.

In turn, Britain recorded in 2015 its first production growth in 15 years. Under these conditions, oil prices continued to decline ($36.76/bbl. on NYMEX, and $37.22/barrel in London) even in the context of diplomatic dispute between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

In December 2015, Russia signaled a record level of 10.82 million barrels per day (bpd), exceeding by 0.4% the previous record, set in November, wrote Bloomberg, quoted by Agerpres.

Keep in mind that Lukoil, one of Russia’s two major oil producers, announced that its crude oil production in 2015 exceeded for the first time in the company’s history 100 million tons, 3.5% more than the previous year, headlined Reuters.

In 2015, Russia’s oil exports rose to 5.25 million bpd, while deliveries to countries outside the former Soviet Union increased by 11%, to over 4.42 million bpd. However, production could be slowed after 2016 if taxes are increased in this sector, warned the Russian Energy Minister.

At an average rating crude price of 50 dollars, the government expects the economy to grow by 0.7%, an opinion that contradicts Central Bank estimates; this institution indicated that the downturn of 2015 will continue this year also.