Russia’s Diesel Exports Crash to Multiyear-Low amid Tight Global Market

Russia’s Diesel Exports Crash to Multiyear-Low amid Tight Global Market

Charles Kennedy

Thu, August 13, 2026 at 10:00 PM GMT+3 2 min read

Russia's diesel and gasoil exports crashed in the first seven days of August to just 80,000 barrels per day (bpd), the lowest in many years, as Moscow extended restrictions on diesel exports amid a fuel crisis triggered by incessant Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries.

The multi-year low diesel exports between August 1 and 7, as estimated by data compiled by Bloomberg, are further squeezing the global market of middle distillates, which is much tighter than crude supply.

To compare, Russia last year shipped as many as 1 million bpd of diesel and gasoil.

This year, Ukraine has pursued a relentless drone campaign targeting Russian oil refining infrastructure and oil supply routes to force Putin into negotiating peace.

Amid peak demand season, Russia has been suffering from gasoline and diesel shortages for over three months, as Ukraine's drone campaign to strike Russian refineries forced many large processing sites offline in the spring and summer.

The slump in Russian fuel supply combined with fuel not making it out of the Persian Gulf to tighten refined petroleum markets much more than the crude market.

Global refinery crude throughputs increased in July but remained nearly 5 million bpd below year-ago levels, at 80.9 million bpd, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its closely-watched monthly Oil Market Report this week.

Global throughputs are now forecast to drop by 2.5 million bpd on average in 2026 and rebound by 3.5 million bpd in 2027.

"Tighter light and middle distillate markets boosted cracks and margins in the Atlantic Basin to record highs," the agency said.

Even as U.S. fuel exports rose by about 700,000 bpd in July from a year earlier, global seaborne trade in petroleum products crashed by 3.8 million bpd, amid plunging diesel and jet fuel exports from Russia and the Middle East, the IEA reckons.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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