Russia is increasing oil exports to compensate for the strikes on a number of its refineries

In August, Russia decided to increase crude oil shipments through Western ports. This was a forced step after attacks by Ukrainian drones.

According to Reuters, this month Moscow increased shipments through Western ports to 2 million barrels per day, which is 200 thousand more than originally planned.

This was a forced step after attacks by Ukrainian drones, which disabled a number of refineries and effectively stopped about 17% of Russian refining capacity.

In addition, the Druzhba pipeline, along with a key pumping station in Unech, was damaged. These losses could reduce oil exports by up to 500 thousand barrels per day, which means billions in potential lost revenue for the Russian budget.

“The prospects for the restoration of supplies remain uncertain: repairs are being delayed, and new attacks call into question the stability of exports. Added to this is the problem of a shortage of tankers – Western sanctions have limited Moscow’s access to insurance and a fleet, and now Russian traders are forced to overpay for transportation or use the so-called “shadow fleet,” the report says.

In particular, the loss of refining makes the Russian oil industry even more dependent on crude exports.

As USM previously reported, Ukraine’s strikes on at least 10 Russian oil refineries have knocked out about 17% of capacity, or 1.1 million barrels per day.