Russia's idle oil refining capacity in September seen up 34% vs August
9/13/2024 12:00:00 PM
Russia's offline primary oil refining capacity in September is set to jump 34% from August, according to Reuters calculations based on data from industry sources, owing to technical outages, Ukrainian drone attacks and seasonal maintenance. Offline capacity is seen at 3.87 MMt this month, or 14.5% of Russia's total oil refining capabilities. That is up from 2.95 MMt in August.
An increase in idle refining capacity usually facilitates crude oil exports. Market sources told Reuters on Thursday that Russia's crude oil loading plan from the Baltic ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga for September was revised higher by 0.2 MMt to 6.2 MMt. In the latest attack on Russian energy facilities, a Ukrainian drone this month hit a Moscow oil refinery controlled by Gazprom Neft.
The Kremlin said that Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil infrastructure had minimal impact thanks to the work of air defense units and other defensive measures. Going by a current maintenance schedule, the country's offline primary oil refining capacity in October would fall by 37% from September to 2.42 MMt. The schedule is subject to change. Total cumulative idle primary oil capacity in Russia for January to September has reached 32 MMt, up 23% from the same period last year.
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