Russia’s Oil Export Surge Runs Into a 135 Million-Barrel Traffic Jam

AI Summary

Russian crude oil exports have surged but are facing a bottleneck of nearly 135 million barrels stranded at sea due to Ukraine's airstrikes targeting refining facilities. Ukrainian drone attacks have reduced Russia's refining capacity to its lowest since 2005, forcing Moscow to ramp up export volumes to manage the backlog.

Nearly 135 million barrels of Russian crude oil are currently stranded at sea as a result of Ukraine’s airstrike campaign targeting refineries with the intent to cripple crude processing. The offshore backlog is forcing Moscow to significantly ramp up export volumes. Intensive Ukrainian drone strikes, including recent hits on the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat and Afipsky processing facilities, have knocked out roughly one-third of Russian domestic refining capacity bringing it to ~3.91 million barrels per day, the lowest level seen since 2005.…