Russia short of a third of its petrol following refinery strikes

Russia's petrol production fell to around 80,000 tonnes per day by the end of August – 70% of summer consumption levels – leaving the market short of every third litre.

Source: The Moscow Times, an independent Amsterdam-based news outlet

Details: Over the past week, following drone attacks, major refineries Permnefteorgsintez, NORSI and Yaroslavnefteorgsintez, which produce significant volumes of motor petrol, have shut down.

As a result of these shutdowns, the gap between production and market demand widened to around 35,000 tonnes per day. In summer, Russia consumes roughly 115,000 tonnes of petrol daily.

On average in August, Russian plants produced around 90,000 tonnes of petrol per day, covering 80% of demand. By the end of the month, production had returned to almost the level seen in early July, when the first wave of the fuel crisis peaked.

The shortage has forced Russia to increase purchases from abroad. Seaborne deliveries of petroleum products from Asian countries in August are estimated at 270,000 tonnes, while petrol imports from Belarus are estimated at 150,000 tonnes.

Overall, traders estimate August petrol imports at around 220,000 tonnes or 7,000 tonnes per day. Even accounting for imports and the export ban until 31 January, the Russian market is receiving around 97,000 tonnes of petrol per day – 85% of demand.

Background: Since the beginning of August, Ukrainian forces have attacked Russian oil refineries at least 21 times, while a petrol shortage has once again hit drivers, including in Moscow and Moscow Oblast.

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