MOSCOW: Russian oil and gas condensate production, among the world’s largest, remained at a post-Soviet record level of 10.71 million barrels per day in April, underpinned by a recent recovery in oil prices, Energy Ministry data showed on Saturday.

Global oil prices jumped 21 per cent in April to over $66 a barrel due to slowing drilling activity and increasing political tensions in the Middle East, having collapsed from a peak of $115 per barrel in June last year.

The price slump has significantly hurt the Russian economy, which relies on oil and natural gas for around half the federal budget revenues. Russia’s GDP contracted by 3.4pc in March year-on-year.

Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2015

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