Russia: 2014 Crude Exports Down 4.3 pct

Novak says Russian oil output to rise 0.6 pct in 2014; Natural gas production seen down 4 pct this year.

Russia's oil exports are expected to fall by 4.3 percent this year, Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Tuesday, citing preliminary data.

He said oil exports will be 229 million tonnes (4.6 million barrels per day), while natural gas production will fall by 4 percent to 641 billion cubic metres (bcm) and exports by 6.7 percent to 183.3 bcm.

Russia, one of the world's top oil producers, has been cutting crude exports in recent years due to rising domestic demand and refining volumes.

Novak said that crude oil output will edge up 0.6 percent to 526.6 million tonnes, in what would be a post-Soviet record high. Output may edge down to 525 million tonnes next year, he added.

Russia's economy has suffered from plummeting prices of oil, its chief export, which have almost halved since mid-June.

Reporting by Katya Golubkova, Olesya Astakhova and Anastasia Lyrchikova