Production climbs 1.8% to 10.85 million barrels a day Weaker ruble and progressive taxes bolster Russian output Russian oil output rose 1.8 percent in July, extending a run of year-on-year gains to 24 months. Production climbed to 10.85 million barrels a day, according to data from the Russian Energy Ministry’s CDU-TEK unit. That was little changed from June and compares with a post-soviet record of 10.91 million barrels a day in January. Russia’s oil output has proven resilient since crude’s 2014 collapse as a weaker ruble and a progressive tax regime cut costs at existing developments. Projects commissioned by companies such as Novatek OJSC and Gazprom Neft PJSC when oil was trading near $100 a barrel continue to bolster production. Exports rose 4.7 percent to 5.28 million barrels a day in July from a year earlier, according to the data. That was 3.2 percent down on June. Russian oil […]