MOSCOW, August 24. /TASS/. Russia’s oil refining is currently 2.1% higher than in 2016, Deputy Energy Minister Kirill Molodtsov said Thursday.

"The growth of oil refining currently amounts to around 2.1%," he said when asked a respective question, adding that the production of fuel oil has dropped 6.9% in the period.

According to Molodtsov, all in all oil refining may show growth for the year due to rising primary refining.

In early June, the Energy Ministry projected a 1.8% decrease in Russia’s primary oil refining for 2017 compared with 2016 to 280 mln tonnes. Last year it amounted to 285.2 mln tonnes.

The ministry expects refining to stand at 275-278 mln tonnes in 2018, 273-278 mln tonnes in 2019, and 271-278 mln tonnes in 2020, depending on economic development scenarios.