2026-04-21 14:36, updated 2026-04-21 14:51
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2026-04-21 14:36
update
2026-04-21 14:51
Russia reduced oil production by 300-400 thousand tons in April. barrels per day compared to first quarter levels due to Ukrainian drone attacks on ports and refineries. This is the biggest decline in six years, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing anonymous sources.
Crude oil, extracted mainly from deposits in Western Siberia, is the driving force of the Russian economy. Revenues from oil exports constitute approximately 25%. Russian budget.
The decline in production has hit the earnings of the world's second-largest exporter significantly, but those losses may be mitigated by the war with Iran, which has triggered a supply crisis and led to higher oil prices. Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Thursday that high fuel prices will help Moscow reduce its budget deficit.
Russia's economy on “borrowed time”. Even oil priced at $100 is not enough
Oil at $100 a barrel for over a year – such a price would save Russia's economy, according to Thomas Nilsson, head of Swedish military intelligence. As he stated in an interview for the Financial Times, “the war in the Middle East has increased the Kremlin's depleted treasury, but it will not eliminate the budget deficit.”
Ukrainian drones “turn off” Russian oil
In recent weeks, Ukraine has carried out a wave of drone attacks on Russia's largest Western oil ports and refineries. Air raids led to fires.
Moscow classified oil production data shortly after the 2022 attack on Ukraine, citing national security concerns.
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Russian oil production peaked in the late 1980s, but fell sharply after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 due to a lack of investment. It increased in the following decade, reaching a post-Soviet peak just before the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Reuters sources and calculations, the current production decline means a reduction in mining by 500-600 thousand tonnes. barrels per day compared to Russian production levels at the end of 2025.
The production of “black gold” dropped by hundreds of thousands of barrels
According to Russian media, Russia shot down 11,211 Ukrainian drones in March, almost twice as many as in February. Drones have repeatedly attacked Russia's main oil export ports in the west of the country. Ports in the Leningrad Oblast and Primorsk on the Baltic Sea, as well as the port of Novorossiysk on the Black Sea, were affected.
Attacks have also targeted Russian refineries, and last weekend Ukraine also attacked the port of Vysotsk on the Baltic Sea.
Russian oil exports also dropped due to the closure of the Druzhba pipeline, which carried oil to Hungary and Slovakia, damaged by the Russian attack.
Analysts from the International Energy Agency (IEA) based in Paris estimated that by the end of the year Russia will supply 120,000 barrels of oil per day less than today. Given the damage to port and energy infrastructure, Russia may have difficulty increasing production above levels seen at the beginning of the first quarter in the near term.
According to the IEA, Russian oil production amounted to 8.96 million barrels per day in March. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) estimated it at PLN 9.167 million.
Last December Bloomberg reported that oil production in Russia dropped to 9.326 million barrels per day, which was the lowest result in 18 months. Production in December was 100 thousand. barrels per day lower than a month earlier. (PAP)
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