Drilling at Russia’s oil production wells likely beat a post-Soviet record in 2023, according to industry data Bloomberg has seen—evidence that the Western sanctions haven’t affected drilling rates much, especially at brownfields. Russia is estimated to have drilled oil production wells with a total depth of 28,100 kilometers (17,460 miles) between January and November 2023—on course for a second consecutive year that would beat the post-Soviet record for drilling, per the data seen by Bloomberg. …
