Russian crude export dropped last year to 251 million tons
Russia's crude exports fell last year because companies supplied more to domestic refineries amid higher shipping taxes, according to official statistics.
Exports last year dropped 1.1 percent to 251 million tons (5 million barrels per day), down from 253.8 million tons in 2004, according to figures from the Industry and Energy Ministry. It marked the first annual drop since 1999, said Oleg Maximov, an oil and gas analyst at Troika Dialog brokerage.
