After attacks by Ukrainian drones on several large Russian oil refineries, the average daily rate of oil processing in the Russian Federation fell to the lowest weekly level in the last ten months.
Thus, from March 14 to 20, Russian refineries processed 5.03 million barrels of oil per day. According to Bloomberg calculations, this is more than 400 000 barrels per day less than the average for the first 13 days of March.
This year, 13 large Russian oil refineries and two small ones came under attack. As a result, the Russian Federation lost 480 000 to 900 000 barrels of processing capacity per day, writes Bloomberg. But the actual reduction in the total volume of oil processing at Russian refineries may be smaller, as other intact refineries have increased their productivity.
At the end of last week in Russia, due to a drone attack, another oil refinery in the Krasnodar region of the Russian Federation caught fire. This is already some Russian oil facility that has been affected by the bezpolniki. In particular, on March 13 in Ryazan, Russia, an oil refinery caught fire after a drone attack. Before that, drones attacked a refinery in the Nizhny Novgorod region and an oil depot in Oryol. At the same time, the oil refinery of the Lukoil company in the Nizhny Novgorod region lost part of its capacity due to the attack.
In the absence of new drone attacks, the output of Russian oil refineries could fluctuate between 5 and 5.2 million barrels per day in the next few weeks. This is due not only to damage caused by drones, but also to the start of scheduled seasonal maintenance.
According to preliminary estimates, drone attacks can reduce Russian diesel production by 6-8%, and only export flows will be affected.
However, Russia still remains one of the worldʼs largest energy exporters, even despite Western sanctions on its oil and gas sector. At the end of last year, it was reported that Russiaʼs monthly income from oil exports was greater than before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
- The Financial Times, citing sources, wrote that the US is calling on Ukraine to stop attacks on Russian energy infrastructure — this could allegedly increase world oil prices and provoke attacks on Ukrainian energy in response.