Russia's seaborne fuel exports fall nearly 20% after drone strikes on oil refineries

Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia’s oil infrastructure, ongoing since early August, have hit its fuel exports. 

Source: The Moscow Times, an independent Amsterdam-based news outlet, with reference to Kommersant, a Russian daily newspaper

Details: From Sunday 1 September to Sunday 15 September, Russia shipped 3.3 million tonnes of fuel from its ports to foreign markets, down 18% on the same period last year and 16% lower than the July average, Kommersant reported, citing data from the Centre for Price Indices.

The fall in supplies was most visible between Wednesday 11 September and Sunday 15 September following an attack on the port of Primorsk, which usually exports up to 300,000 barrels of diesel a day. Shipments were temporarily halted after one of the port’s terminals was damaged, Reuters sources said.

Unscheduled repairs at oil refineries have also weighed on exports.

In August alone Russia lost 17% of its refining capacity, or 1.1 million barrels a day, as a result of Ukrainian attacks.

A Kommersant source in the industry said that between Sunday 1 September and Monday 16 September refining output fell to 4.96 million barrels a day and by Monday 16 September had dropped further to 4.75 million.

JPMorgan analysts noted that Russia’s refining throughput has not fallen below 5 million barrels a day since April 2022.

Background: Russia will have to cut oil production after Ukrainian drone strikes on key oil infrastructure sites.

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