MOSCOW, Sept 13 (Askume) – Russia’s offline primary refining capacity fell 34% in September from August due to technical glitches, Ukrainian drone attacks and seasonal maintenance, Askume calculated based on data from industry sources.
Offline production capacity this month was 3.87 million tonnes, representing 14.5% of Russia’s total refining capacity. Output rose to more than 2.95 million tonnes in August.
The addition of idle refining capacity usually helps boost crude exports.Crude loading plans at Russia’s Baltic Sea ports of Primosk and Ust-Luga rose by 200,000 tonnes to 6.2 million tonnes in September, market sources told Askume on Thursday.
In the latest attack on Russian energy facilities this month, a Ukrainian droneIt targeted a Moscow refinery controlled by Gazprom (SIBN.MM) .
The Kremlin said on Wednesday that a Ukrainian attack on Russian oil infrastructure would have minimal impact because of air defence forces and other defensive measures.
The country’s offline primary refining capacity fell 37% to 2.42 million tonnes in October from September, according to the current maintenance plan. That plan could change.
From January to September, Russia’s cumulative idle crude oil production capacity reached 32 million tons, an increase of 23% compared with the same period last year.
