Russia’s Oil Revival Gets Some Help From Domestic Refineries
- Country’s refiners raised crude demand amid generous margins
- The nation is now processing as much oil as it did in March
Oil storage tanks at a refinery in Tuapse, Russia.
Source: Bloomberg
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Russia’s oil output is edging back toward pre-war levels, and a revival in large and small refineries scattered across the country is a major driver of the change.
The trend is another example -- from rising oil-product exports to higher prices for Urals crude -- of how Russia’s energy industry is adapting to trade restrictions imposed after its invasion of Ukraine. The country’s refiners were hit hard by the first wave of sanctions, with a knock-on effect on crude production, but they are enjoying “highly favorable” economics right now, said Mikhail Turukalov, Chief Executive Officer of Moscow-based Commodities Markets Analytics.