Russian April Oil Output Flat -- April 30, 2016

Reuters/Rigzone is reporting:

Russian oil production edged lower in April: to 10.86 million barrels per day (bpd) from a record 10.91 million in March.

The preliminary statistics show Russia is determined to keep oil output high after the world's leading crude producers failed to clinch a deal to freeze output to support weak crude prices.

The sources said seasonal maintenance at oilfields and refineries brought production down.

Production still running above the 2015 average of 10.73 million bpd, however, which was the highest yearly output for nearly three decades.

Russian oil output has repeatedly surprised on the upside over the past decade, rising from as low as 6 million bpd at the turn of the millennium. Oil experts have repeatedly predicted a decline but it has yet to happen.

So many story lines here. Most remarkable is the "exactness" of the figures. 10.91 million - 10.86 million = 50,000 bbls or 0.4% and "we" know it's due to "seasonal maintenance at oilfields and refineries. Call me cynical, but 0.4% is a rounding error. I wish I could account for my own monthly spending that closely.

I still think the graph at this post (and reposted below) is the best I've seen for putting things in perspective. [Within each bar, the lower, darker segment is crude oil; the upper, lighter segment is natural gas.]