Higher crude prices and weakened rouble bolster producers’ profits

Producers shrug off sanctions and benefit from surge in crude price and weaker rouble

Earnings at privately owned Russian producer beat analyst expectations

Executives argue that low costs mean their sacrifices only benefit others

Talks progress despite threat of new US sanctions

FT meets Vagit Alekperov, former Soviet oil minister who runs Russian oil group

Action against Russia will not include key pipeline, says minister

Big projects may not be making a comeback, but Tengiz project is important to US group and country

Plan is largest development to be authorised since crude price crash of mid-2014

Daily oil production in Russia fell 3 per cent in first quarter, exacerbated by falling output at Soviet-era fields

Opec’s second-largest producer volumes hurt by maintenance, weather, power outages and budget crisis