Russia is set to increase crude oil output by around 8 million tons or 185,000 bpd by then end of this year, according to the Russian Energy Ministry. Speaking to Russian TASS news agency , Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Friday that the country’s crude production forecast to a total of 540-542 million tons, for the 8-million-ton increase. This is compared to Russia’s 2015 production of 534 million tons or roughly 4.5 billion barrels of oil. Russia managed to surprise analysts by keeping production at high levels throughout what many now see as the bottom of the oil bust. Below chart shows the soaring Russian oil output in the last months and the 7 percent output drop in April confirmed by the Russian Energy ministry. (Click to enlarge) Even though many now expect Russia’s crude production to remain resilient throughout 2016, especially as oil prices rebounded from February lows. […]