Russian oil processing hits 24-year low

Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries reduced Russia's crude oil processing volume in the first half of July to its lowest level in 24 years, the weakest since May 2002, prompting Russian producers to increase crude oil exports, Bloomberg reported.

According to the report, Russia's major oil refineries, oil tankers, maritime infrastructure, and key oil pipelines were targeted in at least 30 attacks during July. This marked the second-highest monthly number of strikes since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, CE Report quotes MOLDPRES.

Bloomberg said that during the second half of July, Ukrainian forces shifted their focus to oil tankers and logistics hubs, giving some refineries time to carry out repairs and resume operations.

Meanwhile, the Financial Times reported that 19 of the 26 refineries forced to halt production because of Ukrainian drone attacks had fully or partially resumed operations by July 27, while seven refineries remained completely offline.

The report added that the restart of some refineries helped improve fuel supplies on Russia's domestic market and eased fuel shortages.

However, both publications noted that Ukrainian forces have intensified attacks on Russian refineries again over the past week, causing some facilities to suspend operations once more. The full impact of these latest strikes on Russia's oil market is expected to become clearer in the coming weeks.

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