Russia’s oil export revenues have continued to rise despite lower production thanks to high oil prices. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA) monthly market report for May, Russia’s oil export revenues clocked in at $19.18 billion in April, good for a modest $180 million increase from March but a massive jump of $6.28 billion compared to April 2025. The increase in oil revenues came despite total output falling by 460,000 bpd to 8.8 million bpd, while total exports declined by 90,000 bpd to an average of 7.03 million bpd.
The ongoing Iran war and the subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz severely choked global energy supplies, sending global benchmarks skyrocketing and pushing Russian Urals crude closer to open-market prices. Meanwhile, the Trump administration issued a temporary sanctions waiver that allowed global buyers to take delivery of Russian oil cargoes in a bid to stabilize energy prices during geopolitical disruptions. While the initial waiver expired on April 11, Washington extended this relief for another 30 days through May 16 in a bid to manage volatile energy prices, despite initial indications that it would not be renewed.
That said, Russia’s energy sector continues to face major challenges stemming from the war in Ukraine. Ongoing Ukrainian drone attacks have repeatedly targeted major Russian refineries and Baltic ports like Primorsk and Ust-Luga, destroying processing capacity and severely restricting Russia’s refined product output. By April 2026, drone attacks reduced Russia’s total oil output by roughly 460,000 barrels per day (bpd) compared to 2025, with refined product exports falling by roughly 200,000 bpd.
However, Russia has managed to offset losses through a 36% surge in pipeline exports, aided by the late-April resumption of the southern Druzhba pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia. The resumption allowed Hungary and Slovakia–both exempt from EU bans–to resume receiving approximately 175,000–200,000 barrels per day of Russian oil, offsetting earlier dips in their import volumes following a January 2026 drone strike by Ukraine that halted flows through the southern Druzhba branch.
By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com
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