Tireless Russian Oilmen

Russian oil producer Slavneft, in which BP bought a 25 percent stake this year, raised oil extraction by one-third in the first quarter of 2004.
Oil output reached 5.1 million tons (415,400 barrels per day), and it is more than 30 percent-rise the year-earlier period. Crude refining rose 1.3 percent to 5.1 million tons the company said, without giving volumes for the first quarter of 2003.
The company did not provide with the information about the reasons of that significant growth.