Russian Fuel Exports Rebound in August But Still Down 50% From Last Year

Russia's seaborne oil product exports increased 16.4% in August compared with July as several refineries completed unplanned maintenance and resumed operations, industry sources and Reuters calculations show. Total shipments for the month were 4.57 million metric tons, with the cargo mix skewed toward naphtha and fuel oil while diesel flows remained constrained by export restrictions. The Baltic ports accounted for most of the month-on-month improvement: loadings from Primorsk, Vysotsk, St. Petersburg and Ust-Luga climbed 32.7% to 2.62 million tons. By contrast, Black Sea and Azov Sea exports fell 25.3% to 930,000 tons. Arctic shipments from Murmansk and Arkhangelsk rose to 130,400 tons from 44,000 tons, and Far East loadings increased 34% to 890,000 tons. The monthly rise masks a much larger decline versus the previous year. August exports were roughly half the level recorded in August 2025, reflecting sustained damage to Russia's refinery system from repeated Ukrainian drone attacks in 2026. Three of the country's six largest diesel-producing refineries—Kirishi, Volgograd and NORSI—are either closed or operating at about one-quarter capacity; those six refineries produce around half of Russian diesel. Moscow has reportedly extended its diesel export ban through October 31 to allow refiners more time to finish maintenance and rebuild domestic stocks ahead of winter. Russian diesel exports had already dropped below 1 million metric tons in June, versus roughly 2.5 million tons per month a year earlier. The reduced flows, together with outages in the Persian Gulf, have contributed to U.S. diesel prices rising above $6 per gallon.