Russia's Oil Industry on Brink of Collapse: Drone Strikes and Aging Wells Take Toll

Russia's oil industry is on the verge of collapse, with Rystad Energy downgrading its crude production forecast to 8.95 million barrels per day by 2026.

This represents a significant deterioration from previous projections, and output is expected to slide further to 8.6 million barrels per day in 2027, a 90,000 barrel per day downgrade from Rystad's prior forecast.

The main culprit behind the decline is the intensifying drone strikes on energy infrastructure, which have disrupted refining capacity at an unprecedented pace.