MOSCOW (Commodity Online) : Russia's Energy ministry said country's oil and gas production saw a favorable increase year-on-year in the first four months this year.

In a report, the ministry said, From January to April, the country's oil output reached 165.3 million tons, which was a 3.1-percent growth over the same period of last year; while the gas production soared 20.4 percent year-on-year to 237.9 billion cubic meters.

According to official figures, in the first quarter Russia's crude oil output rose 3.2 percent over the same period of last year to 123.86 million tons. The gas production reached 181.65 billion cubic meters, rising 18.3 percent.

Russia became the world's largest oil producer in 2009 with 494 million tons, but its gas production slid to the second after the United States due to declining market demands.

Russia