Russian oil output for 1999 will be 308.4 million metric tons

by The Associated Press

Russia will have produced 308.4 million metric tons (88.2 billion gallons) of oil by the end of the year, the Fuel and Oil Ministry said Dec. 29.

A ministry spokesman said the figure had been achieved by adding up Russian oil companies’ output so far in 1999 with their projected production over the last three days of the year.

Oil exports will have totaled 18.5 million metric tons (5.3 billion gallons) inside the former Soviet Union and 113.5 million metric tons (32 billion gallons) shipped to other countries, the spokesman said.

Oil exports are a key source of income for the cash-starved government, and fluctuations in world oil prices can have a drastic effect on the Russian economy. Last year, low oil prices contributed to Russia’s economic meltdown, while the economy was given a major boost when prices climbed back up this year.