Russia slightly increased crude and condensate output in July from June by around 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) to above 9 million bpd, supported by strong oil exports and a recovery in refinery throughput, two industry sources told Reuters.
Oil and fuel sales remain a key source of budget revenue for Russia, prompting Moscow to keep supplies as high as possible despite Western sanctions and repeated attacks on refineries. However, in August Russia is unlikely maintain the July output level, the sources said.
Russia stopped publishing data on oil output in 2023, about a year after the war in Ukraine started.
Russia's energy ministry didn't immediately respond to Reuters request for comments on July production.
According to OPEC data, Russia's oil output fell by 61,000 bpd in June to 8.928 million bpd, from 8.989 million bpd in May. OPEC estimated Russia's average oil production at 9.129 million bpd in 2025.
The country's oil output declined earlier this year because of refinery damage and export constraints, the Russian central bank said in its report on its July board meeting on interest rates.
The Bank of Russia report said that "the ability to redirect freed-up crude oil volumes to exports was limited by the capacity of transport and port infrastructure."
Neither OPEC nor the central bank has yet provided an estimate of Russia's July oil production.
However, an escalation in drone attacks on Russian refineries in late July and early August, combined with a shortage of available tanker capacity in the Black Sea, could reverse the uptrend, forcing producers to curb output because of difficulties in placing crude volumes, the sources said.
Russia plans to increase crude exports from its western ports by 4% in August compared with July, industry sources said, as unplanned refinery outages free additional volumes for export.
At the same time, drone attacks could alter export plans, as several refineries have suspended operations over the past week following attacks.
A fire broke out at a refinery in Russia's Yaroslavl region after a drone attack, the regional governor said.
