The head of Rosneft, Russia's largest state-controlled oil company, upped Thursday the production growth forecast for 2006 by 1 percentage point to 8%, RIA Novosti reports.
Speaking at an investment forum in China on the sidelines of the Russian prime minister's visit to the country, Sergei Bogdanchikov said: "It [output] will most likely grow by 8%, close to 8%."
Rosneft earlier said it raised production of oil with gas condensate by 8.4% in January-September 2006 against the same period last year, to 59.4 million metric tons (436.59 million bbl), or 0.4% above plan.
Bogdanchikov said an increase in average daily well output from 13.9 metric tons (102 bbl) to 15 metric tons (110 bbl) has encouraged the growth. He added that some new wells have yielded from 76.6 tons (563 bbl) to 105.4 tons (775 bbl) this year.
He said Rosneft's net profit will be no less than what was forecast during the road-show ahead of the IPO in Moscow and London this summer, when the company reportedly raised $10.4 billion.