Russia’s Gazprom Neft says oil production recovered to pre-Covid levels

Gazprom Neft, Russia’s fastest-growing oil company in terms of output, has restored its production to pre-COVID levels, Vadim Yakovlev, the company’s first deputy chief executive, said.

In comments cleared for publications on Wednesday, he also said that the company is ready to tackle curbs on Russian oil from the West over what Moscow calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine, which forced Russian companies to seek new markets and cut supplies to Europe and the United States.

Many countries have imposed sanctions on Russia, but key oil consumers China and India have stepped up imports of discounted Russian barrels to record levels.