Russian Oil Refining Faces Significant Jump in Offline Capacity

Russia's offline primary oil refining capacity is expected to increase by 34% in September compared to August. This rise is due to technical outages, Ukrainian drone attacks, and seasonal maintenance. The latest drone attack hit a Moscow refinery, but the Kremlin claims minimal impact due to air defense measures.

According to Reuters calculations based on data from industry sources, Russia's offline primary oil refining capacity is projected to surge by 34% in September, driven by technical outages, Ukrainian drone attacks, and seasonal maintenance.

The offline capacity is expected to reach 3.87 million metric tons this month, equivalent to 14.5% of Russia's total oil refining capabilities, an increase from 2.95 million tons in August.

In the most recent incident, a Ukrainian drone struck a Moscow oil refinery controlled by Gazprom Neft, but the Kremlin assured that air defense units and other defensive measures mitigated the impact.

(With inputs from agencies.)