Russia's oil refining falls to its lowest level in more than two decades in July

Russian refineries processed an average of about 3.6 million barrels per day of crude in July 2026, the lowest monthly figure since May 2002 and roughly a third below the 2020 to 2025 seasonal average of 5.3 to 5.6 million barrels per day. According to Bourse News, the decline followed an expansion of Ukrainian drone strikes from refineries to tankers, pipelines and export infrastructure. Ukraine struck 18 Russian refineries in July, including the 440,000 barrel per day Omsk refinery, Russia's largest, and Bloomberg counted 30 attacks on Russian oil infrastructure that month, the second highest monthly tally since the war began.

According to Sergey Vakulenko of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, strikes on refineries resumed in the final week of July. Russia extended its ban on diesel and gasoline exports last week to prevent domestic shortages, while lower refining has forced producers to export more crude oil, adding pressure on ports and a tanker fleet already strained by Ukrainian attacks.