Crude output in Russia, the world's largest oil producer, was little changed in April from the previous month and held near an October record for production in the post-Soviet era.
Russia pumped 10.24 million barrels a day last month, according to statistics released Monday by the Energy Ministry's CDU-TEK data unit, up 1.6 percent from April 2010. Russia pumped 10.2 million barrels per day in March, according to revised figures from the data unit.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has urged oil producers to keep output above 505 million tons a year, or 10.1 million bpd, for at least a decade.
Output at LUKoil, Russia's second-largest oil producer, slipped to 1.73 million bpd in April from 1.74 million bpd the previous month, according to the data unit. Rosneft, Russia's biggest oil producer, produced 2.28 million bpd compared with 2.27 million bpd in March, excluding its Tomskneft venture with Gazprom Neft.
Russia produced 10.27 million bpd last October, the highest level since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
