RusEnergy

MOSCOW, March 31 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's state-controlled oil producer Rosneft said on Tuesday its net profit calculated to Russian Accounting Standards declined 12.8%, year-on-year, in 2008 to 141.31 billion rubles ($4.2 billion). Rosneft, which became Russia's largest crude producer after acquiring most of the assets of bankrupt oil firm Yukos through liquidation auctions in 2007, posted a loss of 65.05 billion rubles ($1.9 billion) in the fourth quarter against a profit of 45.11 billion rubles ($1.3 billion) in the third quarter. Rosneft attributed its Q4 loss to a plunge in world oil prices, the growth of the U.S. dollar and the increased ratio of tax and customs payments to revenues. Rosneft earlier reported that its US GAAP net profit grew 70%, year-on-year, in 2008 to $11.12 billion, with oil output up 9% to over 110.1 million metric tons (2.2 million barrels per day). Rosneft expects its oil output to grow to 112.3 million metric tons (2.26 million barrels per day) in 2009