Russian oil refining falls to 3.6 million barrels per day in July, a 24 year low

Crude processing at Russian refineries fell in July 2026 to its lowest level in more than two decades. According to The Moscow Times, citing Bloomberg analysis, Russian refineries processed an estimated 3.6 million barrels per day that month, the lowest monthly level since May 2002 and roughly one third below the seasonal average. Between 2020 and 2025, those refineries typically processed between 5.3 million and 5.6 million barrels per day in the same period.

The driver is the expansion of Ukraine's drone campaign from refineries to tankers, pipelines and export infrastructure. Ukraine struck 18 Russian refineries in July, surpassing the previous monthly record of 17 attacks set in May. One target was the 440,000 barrel per day Omsk refinery, Russia's largest, more than 2,500 kilometres from the Ukrainian border. Ukrainian drones also hit five large oil tankers, five pieces of port infrastructure and two pipelines during the month. Bloomberg counted 30 attacks on Russia's oil infrastructure in July, the second highest monthly total since the start of the full scale invasion.

Russia last week extended its ban on most diesel and gasoline exports to prevent domestic shortages. Reduced processing has also forced producers to export larger volumes of crude, adding pressure on ports and tanker fleets. Bloomberg reported that only four tankers loaded crude at Novorossiysk during the week ending 26 July, down from seven and eight in the previous two weeks. Jorge Leon of Rystad Energy said Russia can reroute some crude through Baltic ports, though pipeline, storage and tanker capacity is insufficient to replace all Black Sea export volumes.