Russia’s seaborne oil product exports jumped 16.4% in August from July as several refineries returned from unplanned maintenance. The rebound still left Russian fuel exports 50% below August 2025 levels.
Russia shipped 4.57 million metric tons of oil products last month, according to industry sources and Reuters calculations. The cargo mix was weighted toward naphtha and fuel oil as Ukrainian drone strikes continued to hit refineries and Moscow kept diesel exports under restriction.
The Baltic accounted for most of the improvement. Shipments from Primorsk, Vysotsk, St. Petersburg and Ust-Luga rose 32.7% from July to 2.62 million tons.
Black Sea and Azov Sea exports moved the other direction, falling 25.3% to 930,000 tons. Arctic shipments from Murmansk and Arkhangelsk rose to 130,400 tons from 44,000 tons, while Far East loadings climbed 34% to 890,000 tons.
The month-over-month gain looks considerably less impressive against last year.
Russia’s refinery system has absorbed repeated Ukrainian attacks throughout 2026. Three of the country’s six largest diesel-producing refineries—Kirishi, Volgograd and NORSI—are either shut or operating at roughly one-quarter capacity. Those six plants account for about half of Russian diesel production.
Moscow is now extending its diesel export ban through October 31, according to Russian media reports, giving refiners more time to complete maintenance and rebuild domestic stocks before winter.
Russian diesel exports had already fallen below 1 million metric tons in June, compared with roughly 2.5 million tons per month a year earlier. Russia is one of the world’s largest diesel exporters, making those missing cargoes particularly uncomfortable in a global market already short on Middle Eastern fuel.
U.S. diesel prices have climbed above $6 per gallon as refinery outages in Russia collide with reduced product flows from the Persian Gulf.
August’s 16.4% export increase shows some Russian refinery capacity returning, but the 50% year-over-year collapse shows how much of it is still missing.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
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