UPDATE 1-Russia Rosneft sees 2009 oil output rising 2 pct

* Sees 2009 liquids output rising 2 pct to 2.26 bpd

* Fully replaces 2008 production with new reserves

* Sees positive free cash flow with oil at $50 per barrel

MOSCOW, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Russia's largest oil producer Rosneft (ROSN.MM) expects to boost oil and gas condensate output by 2 percent in 2009 and maintain positive free cash flow given that oil prices are above $50 per barrel, it said on Monday.

Rosneft said in a statement its oil and gas condensate output is expected to reach 112.3 million tonnes in 2009 (2.26 million barrels per day), up from 110.1 million tonnes the company produced last year.

The increase is mainly expected due to accelerated production drilling -- the company plans to drill 704 new wells -- and the launch of Vankor, its major oil and gas field in Eastern Siberia, the company said.

The 2008 production represented a 9 percent growth compared to the previous year, less than the initial forecast of 11 percent, which was revised down in September after the company delayed the launch of Vankor by a year.

Rosneft also said that it plans to increase marketable gas production to 11.9 billion cubic metres (bcm) in 2009, up by 6 percent from 11.2 bcm in 2008.

Rosneft was one of Russia's few major oil companies which managed to increase oil production last year, which was the first year in the last decade when the country's overall oil output fell following large increases in the previous years.

Analysts expect the decline -- by 0.9 percent to 9.87 bpd -- is likely to continue because of ageing reserves and plunging oil prices, which combined with heavy taxation, leave producers with limited cash to invest in new fields.

Many oil companies are cutting their investment programmes because of the global financial crisis, which is expected to further affect oil production.

Oil export revenues are key for the budget of Russia, the world's second largest oil exporter, and the oil output decline has become a major concern for the government.

NEW BUSINESS PLAN

Rosneft said its board of directors on December 31 approved a business plan for 2009 and reviewed a set of measures aimed at reducing operating and administrative expenses to minimise the impact of the global financial turmoil.

"Inter alia, these measures will ensure additional cash to finance Rosneft's strategic investment projects and reduce debt," the company said, adding that its business plan envisaged positive free cash flow at oil price of $50 per barrel.

Rosneft said in December that it would seek a Western bridging loan of $1-$1.5 billion in the first quarter 2009 and up to $4 billion from state bank VEB this year to refinance its foreign debt, which totaled $19.4 billion at the end of the third quarter of 2008.

Rosneft said it would continue to implement core modernisation and upgrade programmes at its refineries and plans to refine 49.6 million tonnes of crude in 2009, up by 0.7 percent compared to last year. It expects its refined products output to rise by 0.5 percent to 47.4 million tonnes.

Rosneft, whose reserves of 21.699 billion barrels of oil equivalent are some of the biggest among the world's public oil companies, said exploration of new reserves enabled it to add 141 million tonnes of oil and 36 billion cubic metres of gas in 2008 to fully replace volumes produced in the year. (Reporting by Tanya Mosolova; editing by James Jukwey)