Yukos Oil Production Rises 17%

Yukos Oil, Russia's second largest oil producer, has said that it has increased first quarter output by seventeen percent, as the company drills more wells. The company pumped 15.6 million tons during the period (approx 1.27 million barrels a day) more than Indonesia, the ninth biggest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. It boosted crude exports by an eighth to 7.6 million tons, from the year ago period, and refining grew by seven percent to 7.1 million tons. Yukos led Russian oil producers' opposition to OPEC calls that they export less crude oil in the first half of this year to reverse declines in oil prices. The company, which has said that it plans a twenty four percent increase in output for this year, said Russia would damage its fields and lose its share of the oil market to Caspian countries, such as Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, if it shuts oil wells in Siberia.

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