Russia's Oil Output Crushed by Ukraine's Drone Strikes

Russia's oil production fell nearly 1 million barrels per day short of its OPEC+ quota in July, a significant shortfall attributed to Ukraine's relentless drone strikes on Russian oil infrastructure.

The country was supposed to participate in the collective output increase of 188,000 barrels per day approved by OPEC+ for August. However, Russia's production instead declined, driven by damage to major installations belonging to Gazprom Neft, Rosneft, and Lukoil.

Ukraine's drone warfare has targeted key facilities, including the Gazprom Neft Moscow Refinery and the Omsk refinery, previously Russia's largest. The Moscow refinery is unlikely to return to full operations before year-end.

Russian refinery throughput reached a 24-year low in July, with oil product export loadings from Russia falling 23% month-on-month during the same period.