Russia plans to take offline 4.4 million metric tons of refining capacity in October, an increase of 10% from an earlier plan, increasing the amount of crude oil available for export, Reuters calculations based on data from industry sources show.

The latest October revision follows the announcement of maintenance at Novotek’s plant in Ust-Luga, as well as extended halts of prime crude distillation units at Komsomolsk, Ilsk and Ufa oil plants.

Rising idle oil refining capacity for October may result in higher loading volumes for Russia’s western ports this month, but new top-ups for Primorsk, Ust-Luga or Novorossiisk were slow to emerge, traders said on Tuesday.

Exports from the east are normally stable and close to maximum due to high profitability of the route.

Russia’s January-October cumulative idle oil refining capacity has reached 37.1 million tons, up from 30.9 million in the same period in 2023, the calculations showed.

For November, Russia’s idle primary oil refining capacity is seen at 1.2 million tons, but that too may rise to 1.8 million tons if maintenance is extended, according to Reuters calculations and data from industry sources.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)