Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on August 28, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
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Ust-Luga oil terminal will operate at half capacity in September due to pipeline damage from Ukrainian drone attacks, affecting Russian oil exports.
MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia’s Ust-Luga oil export terminal will operate at around 350,000 barrels per day in September, or about half its usual capacity, following damage to pipeline infrastructure from Ukrainian drone attacks, two industry sources told Reuters.
The disruption shows how recent Ukrainian strikes targeting key energy facilities are complicating Russian exports and may lead to supply disruptions.
The problems at Ust-Luga come after drone strikes on the Unecha pumping station in Russia’s Bryansk region earlier in August. Unecha is a key transit point for crude heading to Ust-Luga.
The strikes also affected flows via the Druzhba pipeline, which supplies Belarus, Slovakia and Hungary. Slovakia said on Thursday that initial supplies via the pipeline resumed in test mode.
The sources did not specify which pipeline was damaged but confirmed that repair efforts were underway, with no clear timeline for full restoration.
The fall in Ust-Luga capacity will result in oil volumes being diverted to Russia's Primorsk and Novorossiisk ports, the sources said. That may help to limit export losses.
Russian authorities have not publicly commented on the extent of the damage or its impact on export schedules.
Transneft, the pipeline monopoly that operates Russia's pipelines and the oil terminal, declined to comment.
(Reporting by ReutersEditing by Mark Potter)
Ust-Luga is expected to operate at around 350,000 barrels per day in September, which is about half of its usual capacity.
The disruption was caused by damage to pipeline infrastructure, which is attributed to recent Ukrainian drone strikes targeting key energy facilities.
The fall in capacity will result in oil volumes being diverted to Russia's Primorsk and Novorossiisk ports, which may help to limit export losses.
Repair efforts are underway, but the sources did not provide a clear timeline for when full restoration will be achieved.
Russian authorities have not publicly commented on the extent of the damage or its impact on export schedules.
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