In September, Russia increased its oil exports, but its refineries remained under pressure — Bloomberg

In September, the rate of decline in oil production in Russia slowed amid rising crude exports. At the same time, the country’s oil refining sector continued to face pressure due to Ukrainian strikes on oil refineries.

In September, Russia produced an average of 8.643 million barrels of oil per day, according to the report. This is 38,000 barrels per day less than the revised average for August. In August, production, in turn, was 174,000 barrels per day lower than in July.

Russia’s oil industry is under significant pressure: producers are forced to divert large volumes of crude for export, as Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries have led to the reduction or shutdown of a number of facilities. Kyiv is targeting these facilities in an effort to limit the Kremlin’s ability to finance the war against Ukraine.

In September, the intensity of attacks on Russian refineries fell to its lowest level in three months. However, the strikes continued to outpace the pace of repair work, hindering a substantial recovery of capacity. As a result, average oil refining volumes stood at less than 4 million barrels per day—significantly below the seasonal level of 5.4–5.5 million barrels per day recorded prior to the start of Ukraine’s campaign of attacks.

According to Rystad Energy estimates, if Ukraine maintains the current intensity of its attacks, daily oil refining volumes in Russia will remain stable at 3.5–4 million barrels.

In September, Russian oil production was 1.306 million barrels per day below the quota set for the country for that month under the OPEC+ agreement.

Amid hostilities in the Middle East and limited supplies from the Persian Gulf, Russia is increasing its oil exports. According to Bloomberg, based on tanker tracking data, average daily Russian oil exports rose to 3.76 million barrels in the four weeks leading up to October 4. This is the highest figure since early August.

Bloomberg reports this, citing an OPEC report.

Kellogg supported Ukraine’s strikes on Russian oil refineries.

Earlier, Zelenskyy outlined a condition for holding presidential elections in Ukraine.

Earlier, Elon Musk, following Trump’s lead, criticized Zelenskyy.