Russian oil output rose for the fifth year in a row in 2013 reaching a record high for the post-Soviet era, driven by continuing strength in global oil prices, the country’s energy ministry said Wednesday. Oil production rose 1.3% to 10.508 million barrels a day, from the previous high of 10.375 million barrels reached last year, news agency Interfax reported, citing the ministry’s statistical arm. Russia’s crude production rose to about 523.3 million tons, from 518 million tons in 2012. The Soviet-era record for daily crude output was 11.4 million barrels in 1987. In 1994, output had slumped to six million barrels but has since steadily increased, and Russia now vies with Saudi Arabia and the U.S. as the world’s top oil producer. Exports to countries outside of the former Soviet Union declined by 2.2% to 206.782 million tons, the data showed. State-run oil producer OAO Rosneft saw output […]