Half of Russia's largest diesel producers cut output – Reuters

Three of Russia's six largest diesel fuel producers stopped or significantly reduced output in September as a result of Ukrainian drone attacks.

Source: Reuters

Details: The six plants account for roughly half of Russia's diesel fuel production.

Reuters sources said the plant in Kirishi has been shut down, while the Volgograd and Kstovo refineries are operating at about a quarter of their nominal capacity.

As a result, half of Russia's largest oil refineries producing diesel fuel were forced in September to significantly reduce production or halt it altogether because of damage caused by drone attacks.

Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil refineries in recent months reduced fuel production in the country and forced Moscow to restrict exports of petrol, diesel fuel and aviation fuel, Reuters reported.

Market data indicate that six plants – the Omsk oil refinery, the refinery in Kirishi in Leningrad Oblast, TANECO in Tatarstan, the Volgograd oil refinery, the Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez refinery in Kstovo, also known as NORSI, and the Perm oil refinery – account for about half of diesel fuel production in Russia.

Diesel fuel production at these plants is several times below normal levels. TANECO was attacked by drones on 13 September but sources said it is not yet possible to assess the consequences of the attack.

The International Energy Agency said drones successfully attacked Russian oil refineries every three days in the first eight months of 2026.

Traders estimate that Russian diesel fuel exports before restrictions were imposed in June stood at less than 1 million tonnes, while combined exports of diesel fuel and gasoil totalled about 1.8 million tonnes.

A year earlier, when refineries were operating as normal, diesel fuel exports stood at about 2.5 million tonnes a month, or 3.3-3.4 million tonnes including lower-grade gasoil.

Background:

• On the night of 5-6 September, drones attacked the Ryazan oil refinery in Russia.
• On the night of 12-13 September, drones attacked the industrial zone of Nizhnekamsk in Russia's Republic of Tatarstan, where major Russian oil refineries are located.
• The International Energy Agency (IEA) has cut its baseline forecast for Russian oil refining over the next 18 months to approximately 4 million barrels per day – 30% below the level before the invasion of Ukraine.
• Russia's fuel crisis added 0.7-0.8 percentage points to inflation, said Andrei Gangan, director of the monetary policy department at the Bank of Russia.

Subscribe on Patreon to back our journalism long-term.