Following a record month of Ukrainian attacks, Russia could face a fuel crisis – media reports
Bloomberg reports this, citing its own analysis of publicly available data.
According to the agency, Ukrainian drones carried out at least 16 successful strikes on Russian oil refineries during May.
It is particularly telling that the attacks hit eight of the ten largest Russian oil refineries.
The targets included facilities linked to Russian oil giants Rosneft, Gazprom Neft and Lukoil.
Some facilities were hit repeatedly. For example, the Yaroslavl refinery was attacked three times in a single month, whilst the plants in Nizhny Novgorod and Perm were struck twice.
The consequences are already visible in the statistics. According to estimates by the analytical firm OilX, the average level of oil refining in Russia in May stood at around 4.58 million barrels per day.
This is 13% less than a year ago and approximately 700,000 barrels per day below last year’s level. Bloomberg notes that this is the lowest figure since October 2009.
In other words, Russian oil refining has hit a 16-year low.
Experts note that Ukraine is no longer focusing solely on primary refining units, which can be repaired relatively quickly.
Now, complex secondary units, necessary for the production of petrol and diesel fuel, are coming under attack.
Due to sanctions, Russia has no access to Western equipment for repairing such units. This is precisely why every new attack could create long-term problems for fuel production.
The threat of a fuel shortage has forced the Russian authorities to take emergency measures. Moscow has already banned the export of aviation fuel, continues to restrict petrol exports, and is attempting to divert as many resources as possible to the domestic market.
The reason is that rising petrol prices in Russia have repeatedly sparked public discontent and fuelled inflation.
Despite the Kremlin’s claims that there is no risk of a shortage, Bloomberg is reporting signs that the situation is worsening.
On the St Petersburg Commodity Exchange, sales volumes of AI-95 petrol have fallen to around a third of last year’s level.
At the same time, exchange prices for premium petrol have risen by more than 20% compared to last year.
It has also been reported that fuel ration cards are already being introduced in the temporarily occupied Crimea.
As a reminder, it was previously reported that the Unmanned Systems Forces struck 18 Russian oil facilities during May.
Follow us on Telegram
