Russia Oil Export Revenue Hits Lowest Since Ukraine Invasion

Russia’s oil export revenues dropped in November to their lowest monthly level since Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said Thursday.

The world’s third-largest oil producer’s fossil fuel income has been under pressure from meagre economic growth, mounting impact of sanctions, and Ukrainian attacks on its energy sites.

Both volumes and prices have fallen, “dragging export revenues to their lowest since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022,” the IEA said.

Total revenue in November of $11 billion was $3.6 billion below last year’s figure.

The Russian finance ministry reported oil and gas revenues were down 22 percent in the first nine months of the year to a total of $88 billion.

Ukrainian attacks on Russia’s sanctions-busting “shadow fleet” and marine oil facilities have slashed almost half from Russia’s November seaborne oil exports through the Black Sea, the energy agency added.

“After weathering significant unplanned refinery outages in November, tightness in refined product markets has eased, but sanctions in 1Q26 will provide fresh challenges,” the IEA said.

In October, the United States unveiled some of the harshest measures yet on Russia’s energy sector, sanctioning its two biggest oil producers, Rosneft and Lukoil, in an attempt to force Moscow to end the nearly four-year war in Ukraine.

This comes as Ukraine had intensified attacks on Russian refineries over the summer and early autumn, causing domestic petrol prices to spike and forcing some Russian regions to introduce fuel rationing.

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A mix of high military spending, entrenched inflation, and lower oil revenues has stretched the Russian budget.

Moscow is expected to post a $50 billion deficit this year, equivalent to around three percent of GDP, and is raising taxes on consumers and businesses next year to try to reduce the gap.

AFP