Russia's oil revenues fell 22% to a six-month low
Russian budget oil revenues in August fell to their lowest level in six months. Net receipts amounted to 326.2 billion rubles ($3.76 billion) — about 22% less than a year earlier. Pressure on revenues was intensified by the decline in the price of Russian Urals crude, increased subsidies to oil companies, and the consequences of regular Ukrainian attacks on refineries.
This is evidenced by Bloomberg calculations based on data published on September 3 by the Russian Ministry of Finance.
The August figure was the lowest since February 2026. Compared with July, oil revenues fell by more than 60%.
However, such a sharp monthly decline is partly explained by the specifics of Russian taxation: in July the budget receives a significant part of receipts from the additional income tax on oil production companies, which is paid only a few times a year.
Urals fell from almost $95 to $59
The main factor behind the decline in receipts was the fall in the price of Russian export crude.
According to the Federal Tax Service of Russia, August oil taxes were calculated based on a Urals price of just over $59 per barrel.
For comparison, in spring the average monthly price of the Russian grade rose to almost $95 per barrel. Moscow then benefited additionally from a sharp rise in global oil prices amid the war with Iran and increased demand from Asian buyers for supplies outside the Persian Gulf.
Subsequently, expectations of reduced tension in the Middle East led to a fall in global prices, and Urals also noticeably cheapened.
Russia sharply increased payments to oil companies
An additional blow to budget revenues came from payments to oil companies under the so-called fuel damper mechanism.
In August, the Russian budget transferred 197.3 billion rubles to oil companies — 1.7 times more than a month earlier, when payments were about 113 billion rubles.
Since the start of 2026, Russian refining companies have received about 916 billion rubles under this mechanism. This is about a third more than in the same period last year.
The damper is intended to compensate oil companies for the difference between export and domestic prices and encourage them to sell gasoline and diesel fuel inside Russia.
Ukrainian strikes increased pressure on refineries
The situation is further complicated by regular Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refining infrastructure.
According to Bloomberg's calculations, in August alone Ukraine attacked Russian refineries at least 21 times — this was the maximum number of strikes in a single month since the start of the full-scale war.
As a result of shutdowns and repairs, Russian refining volumes fell to multi-year lows, and some regions experienced shortages of certain fuel types.
Russian authorities responded by restricting gasoline and diesel exports, while increasing imports and budget support for refiners.
Total oil and gas revenues also shrank
Overall oil and gas revenues of the Russian federal budget in August amounted to 424 billion rubles. This is 16% less than in August 2025.
For January–August, oil and gas receipts fell by about 16.7% year-on-year — to 5.02 trillion rubles.
Oil and gas provide about a fifth of Russian federal budget revenues, so a prolonged fall in Urals prices and rising spending on supporting the oil industry increase the strain on public finances amid high military expenditures.
Source: Bloomberg
