Russian Refinery Fires Deepen Fuel Crisis, Squeeze Diesel Supply

Ukraine's drone campaign against Russian refining infrastructure continued Friday with a strike on the Slavneft-YANOS facility in Yaroslavl, one of Russia's largest refineries with capacity to process roughly 15 million tons of oil annually, or about 300,000 barrels per day.

The attack adds to a pattern of strikes worsening Russia's domestic fuel crisis, which has already strained diesel and gasoline supplies internally. Combined with the ongoing Iran conflict pressuring Middle East flows, global refined product markets face a two-front supply squeeze that could widen crack spreads.

Meanwhile, U.S. Baker Hughes data shows oil rigs falling by 5 to 447 this week even as gas rigs rose, hinting at a modest supply-side rebalancing in North America that partially offsets geopolitical-driven volatility elsewhere in the commodities complex.