Russia refinery runs rise lagged crude output in August

Russian refineries increased crude runs in August by less than 1pc from July, meaning the country's 5pc rise in crude production over that period mostly went to export destinations.

Russian energy minister Alexander Novak said on 15 July that a "large part" of Russia's additional crude output arising from the easing of Opec+ restrictions would be "consumed by the domestic market" to meet rising demand for motor fuels. But Russian refiners increased crude processing by only 39,000 b/d in August, to 4.84mn b/d, according to Argus estimates based on refining data from the energy ministry's CDU-TEK statistical branch. Processing of condensate increased by about 50,000 b/d on the month to around 480,000 b/d in August.

Argus estimates that Russia produced 9.04mn b/d of crude last month, up by 440,000 b/d from July and slightly above its Opec+ quota of 8.99mn b/d. Condensate production was around 780,000 b/d, up by around 45,000 b/d from July. The latter is unrestricted by the Opec+ deal.

Russian refineries receive 80-90pc of crude through pipelines operated by state-run Transneft, with the rest being delivered by rail. Condensate is supplied to refineries either by non-Transneft pipelines or by rail.

Russian crude exports to non-CIS destinations through Transneft's system increased by about 275,000 b/d in August from July, to 3.13mn b/d. This was partly offset by a 94,000 b/d decline in supplies to Belarus, and by a slight decline in exports of Arctic crude grades that move outside the Transneft system.

By Anastasia Krasinskaya