Ukrainian drone strikes reduce Russian oil refining to 21-year low
July 15, 2026
The API called crude oil supplies down 564,000, gasoline down 1.66 and distillate down 73,000.
The energy complex traded higher again yesterday as things continued to escalate in the Middle East. President Trump had proposed the ideas of charging a fee for ships to pass through the strait. Thankfully this idea was abandoned. The risk premium has been added back into the mark over the last few days and will remain until the strait reopens.
The average estimates for the DOE inventory report today from the Bloomberg survey are crude supplied down 1.594 million barrels, gasoline down 1.067 million barrels, and distillate down 997,000 barrels.
China’s June crude oil imports fell 41.3% to their lowest level in almost a decade as refinery run rates hit a ten-year low due to weak domestic demand and export cuts on refined oil products to safeguard energy security amid the Iran war.
Kpler said damage caused by Ukrainian drone strikes has reduced Russian’s oil refining volumes to 21-year lows. Russian refinery crude runs have fallen to around 3.80 million bpd to date, the lowest level in well over two decades.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps has threatened to close all other export corridors that benefit the US and its allies, Iranian media reported, after Iran shut the Strait of Hormuz and the US reimposed a naval blockade of Iranian in ports.
We are all back to watching the headlines to see what the latest news is with respect to the Iran war and how the market reacts to that news. With the strait closed and the US blockade back in place energy prices will be supported until something changes.