Russia 2009 oil output grows again after 2008 blip

Russian oil output grew by around 1.5% in 2009, putting the world's largest crude producer on an upward trend again after a disappointing 2008, when production fell for the first time in a decade.                                           

Energy ministry data showed on Saturday the country extracted 9.925 million barrels per day last year, a record since the collapse of the Soviet Union, up from 9.78 million bpd in 2008 and 9.87 million bpd in 2007.