### Russian Oil Exports Reach Lowest Level in Three Years
Russian oil exports hit a three-year low in August, declining by 290,000 barrels per day (b/d) month-over-month to approximately 7 million b/d, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). This marks the second consecutive month of decline, with exports reaching their lowest since March 2021.
### Crude Export Overview
Russian crude exports specifically suffered a seasonal contraction of 270,000 b/d in August, falling to 4.4 million b/d. This reduction represents a year-over-year (y-o-y) decline of 270,000 b/d. On the other hand, product exports remained relatively stable, averaging 2.65 million b/d despite summer demand uptick and stagnant refinery runs.
The breakdown of product exports reveals a 240,000 b/d fall in light products such as naphtha, gasoline, and gasoil, offset by a 230,000 b/d rise in fuel and Vacuum Gas Oil (VGO) loadings. This variation is attributed to conversion unit outages following drone attacks.
### Impact on Revenues
The decline in both crude and product volumes resulted in a significant drop in commercial export revenues. Russian oil export revenues plummeted by $1.6 billion month-over-month to $15.3 billion, a level not seen since July 2023. Product revenues decreased by $480 million to $5.6 billion, while crude revenues declined by $1.2 billion to $9.6 billion.
### Unclear Causes
The exact cause of the unusually deep drop in Russian crude exports remains uncertain. Available data does not clarify whether this decline reflects efforts to meet OPEC+ production cut obligations or simply heavier field maintenance. Almost 230,000 b/d of August seaborne crude exports had no identified destination, limiting the accuracy of