Ukrainian drones stopped 17% of the Russian refinery: how it increases US profits - Reuters
According to Reuters, the last wave of attacks was directed at the most profitable objects of Russian energy infrastructure. Among them are several refineries, the Baltic export terminal of Ust-Luga and Friendship oil pipeline, which supplies oil to Belarus, Slovakia and Hungary.
Due to damage to the processing capacity, Russia was forced to increase the export of raw oil from Western ports by 200 thousand barrels per day, which is 11% higher than the previous indicators, since the reduction of internal processing allows to export more raw oil to foreign markets. The strikes also caused gasoline deficiency in some regions of Russia, even despite its ban on exports for manufacturers, introduced by Moscow on July 28.
Experts note that repair of damaged plants can take weeks or even months. In addition, the reduction of domestic oil and fuel production occurs on the background of seasonal maintenance of many enterprises in the world, which additionally limits the supply in the international market and creates the risks of global fuel deficit.
Reduction of exports of Russian diesel fuel has already been reflected in the world deliveries: according to the KPler analytical company, the naval exports of the Russian diesel in August decreased to 744 thousand barrels a day against 828 thousand in July. Although it is only a little less than the volume of August last year, experts expect that due to constant Ukrainian attacks, the level of supply will remain low for several months.
According to LSEG, the European diesel processing margin is now $ 23. 50 per barrel, which is about 40% higher than last year. Moreover, reducing the supply of Russian diesel increases the profitability of oil refining, especially at the Gulf of Mexico coasts in the US, where most products are exported. Reuters also noted that before Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Europe was the main buyer of Russian diesel fuel, satisfying about 40% of its imports and a quarter of total consumption.
In 2023, the EU and the United Kingdom stopped purchases of Russian fuel and replaced it from the Middle East and India, where some plants also used Russian raw materials. Subsequently, in July, the EU approved its 18th package of sanctions against Russia, which forbids the import of petroleum products made from Russian crude oil and will come into force next year.
This prohibition will particularly affect India, which became the second largest buyer of Russian oil after China and in 2024 imported about 1. 9 million barrels per day, which is almost 20% of the total exports of the Russian Federation. In addition, former US President Donald Trump has declared his willingness to strengthen sanctions against Moscow, including limiting the purchase of Russian diesel Brazil, which will additionally complicate supply to the world market.
Despite the fact that the last attacks on Russian energy infrastructure create short -term problems for the Russian Federation, they at the same time open up new opportunities for oil refineries outside Russia, especially in the United States. It should be reminded that on the evening of September 8 it became known that Ukrainian percussion drones attacked the settlement of Penkin in Vladimir region, setting fire to the oil pumping station "Veserovo" of the company "Transneft".