Oh please, reserve numbers are blatant lies. We can't even fully trust production history.

Russia is extracting more oil than Saudi Arabia, making it the biggest producer of “black gold” in the world, figures show. The statistics, from the OPEC, reflect a trend that has seen the Russians periodically surpass the Saudis as the world’s biggest oil producers on and off since 2002.

These latest figures are being hailed in Russia as evidence that such periodic production spikes are not one-offs though and that Moscow really does have a right to lay claim to the No 1 spot. According to OPEC, Russia extracted 9.236 million barrels of oil a day in June, 46,000 more than Saudi Arabia.

The statistics also showed that Russian production in the first half of this year increased to 235.8 million tons, a year-on-year improvement of 2.3 per cent. Traditionally, Saudi Arabia has been regarded as the world’s undisputed primary source of oil and Russia has had to settle for second place.

But in recent years Russia has renationalized and modernized much of its industry and that policy now appears to be paying off.

Yeah, not the first time this has happened.

Russia is nr. 1 because Saudi Arabia has cut it's production by a couple of millions of barrels, while russia is pumping everything it's got. Objectionable text and ad hom attack deleted.

Sept. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Saudi Aramco, the state-run oil monopoly, sees little chance of pumping crude from idle fields next year because a recovery in world demand has yet to begin, its chief executive officer said.

Saudi Arabia has idled about 4 million barrels a day, or one-third of its crude-oil production capacity, according to the oil ministry. The Dhahran-based company, the biggest exporter of unrefined crude oil, is spending $90 billion to develop new reserves and refineries over five years to 2012.

The world’s most influential oil producer is leading OPEC members in cutting a record 14 percent of daily output, contributing to the 56 percent rally in crude prices since December. Global demand for oil is expected to rise by 1.27 million barrels a day, or 1.5 percent, next year, according to the International Energy Agency, not enough for Saudi Arabia to resume all of its idled fields.

Russia’s oil production bucks trend to hit post-Soviet record
Tamsin Carlisle
October 03. 2009

Russia pumped more than 10 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude last month, a level not bettered since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Thew new record consolidates Russia’s position as the world’s largest oil producer.

Russian output rose to 10.01 million bpd from 9.97 million bpd in August and from 9.84 million bpd the previous September, the country’s energy ministry reported at the weekend.

The strong showing put Russia 25 per cent ahead of its nearest rival, Saudi Arabia.

[...]

Yeah, not the first time this has happened.