OREANDA-NEWS  Daily oil refining in Russia for the 24 days of May decreased by 6.4 percent compared to the same period last month, to 715.3 thousand tons, this is the minimum value for 2023. Kommersant writes about this with reference to sources familiar with statistics.

Oil companies reduced refining in May due to the peak of scheduled repairs at the refinery, and it is assumed that next month they will begin to increase production. In annual terms, refining increased by about two percent, as in May last year, oil production and exports of petroleum products from Russia suffered from a sharp failure.

The decrease in oil refining coincided with the intentions of the Ministry of Finance to halve the damping payments of refineries for the supply of gasoline and diesel fuel to the domestic market. These factors, as well as a seasonal increase in fuel demand, led to a sharp increase in stock prices.