Russia greatly reduces oil output due to Ukrainian strikes on refineries

Russia was forced to reduce ​oil output in April due to Ukrainian drone attacks on ports and refineries, as well as a halt to crude ‌supplies via the only remaining Russian oil pipeline to Europe, according to five sources and Reuters calculations, Report informs.

In what could be the sharpest monthly decline in Russian output in the six years since the COVID pandemic, Russia may have cut production by about 300,000 to 400,000 barrels per day in April, from the average level seen in the first months ​of the year, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Oil, pumped mostly from fields across the Western Siberian basin, is ​the lifeblood of Russia's $3 trillion economy, so a decline in output cuts revenue for the world's second-largest exporter.

The potential losses, ⁠though, may be cushioned by the Iran war, which has triggered a supply and production crisis for the global oil market. Russia's Finance Minister ​Anton Siluanov said last Thursday that high prices would help reduce the budget deficit.

Ukraine, over recent weeks, unleashed a wave of drone attacks on Russia's biggest Western ​oil ports, triggering vast blazes, while attacking refineries.

"Against the backdrop of ongoing attacks on Russia's ports and refineries, it will be difficult to place oil without cutting output, especially with upcoming spring maintenance shutdowns," one of the sources told Reuters on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation.