Ukrainian drone strikes cut Russian seaborne diesel exports in August

Russia's seaborne diesel and gasoil exports fell six per cent on the month in August to about 3.1 million tonnes as damage from Ukrainian drone strikes hit production, data from market sources and LSEG showed.

Last month Ukraine intensified drone attacks on Russian oil facilities, targeting major refineries and oil depots mainly in southern and central Russia daily ahead of a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

As a result, at least 17 per cent of Russia's oil processing capacity, or 1.1 million barrels per day, was shut down in August, according to Reuters' calculations.

Diesel and gasoil loadings from the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk fell last month by around 12 per cent from July to 0.83 million tonnes, shipping data showed.

However, diesel exports via the Russian Baltic port of Primorsk, the country's biggest outlet for exports of ultra low-sulphur diesel (ULSD), rose in August 5.4 per cent month-on-month to 1.33 million tonnes, as main fuel suppliers completed planned maintenance.

Turkey and Brazil remained the biggest importers of Russian diesel and gasoil last month, with Morocco, Tunisia and Senegal among the other main importers, according to LSEG data.

(Reporting by Reuters in Moscow. Editing by Alexandra Hudson)