Oil production in the reporting period exceeded the entire output for 2006 by 600,000 metric tons (4.4 million barrels), a spokesman for the regional administration's oil and gas department said.
Russia is currently working on the Sakhalin I and Sakhalin II projects off the Pacific Coast with the participation of foreign investors.
The Sakhalin I project is operated by Exxon Neftegas Limited, a subsidiary of U.S. oil major Exxon, and has recoverable reserves estimated at 2.3 billion barrels of oil and 485 billion cubic meters of natural gas.
The Sakhalin II project, in which Russian gas monopoly Gazprom holds a controlling stake, has estimated reserves of 150 million metric tons (1.1 billion barrels) of oil and 500 billion cubic meters of natural gas.
The spokesman said the U.S. Exxon Neftegas Limited was the leader in oil output, as it produced 5.58 million metric tons (40.9 million barrels) from the Chaivo deposit in the Sea of Okhotsk. The remaining volume was produced by Sakhalinmorneftegaz, Sakhalin Energy and Petrosakh.
Oil output at Sakhalin shelf deposits is expected to reach about 15 million metric tons (110 million barrels) of crude in 2007, the spokesman said.
