Russia’s oil producers earned $21.2 billion from crude and petroleum-product exports in October 2026, the highest level since May, the International Energy Agency reported. The agency linked the gain to higher crude prices stemming from the Iran war, which has brought near-daily attacks on tankers moving through the Strait of Hormuz and Houthi strikes on Saudi energy infrastructure.
Prices climb past $100
October’s revenue marked a 65 percent increase from a year earlier, with crude accounting for more than 80 percent of the total. Both of Russia’s main crude blends, Urals and ESPO, climbed above $100 a barrel during the month. Russia’s crude exports held steady at 5.33 million barrels a day, about 4 percent above the year-earlier level, while petroleum-product exports rose to 1.49 million barrels a day, their highest since June, though still roughly a third below where they stood a year before.
Brent spot in Europe, a separate benchmark from the Urals and ESPO blends cited above, closed at $92.14 a barrel on 11 November, its lowest in 31 days, according to MacroHerald’s own tracking as of 15:15 GMT on 13 November.
Refinery strikes and budget strain
Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries in early October cut into processing runs before Kyiv paused the campaign for two weeks; attacks later resumed against targets including the Kirishi and Omsk refineries. Russia’s federal budget draws roughly one fifth of its revenue from the oil and gas industry, which receives subsidies even as producers are taxed on output. Net budget revenue from oil levies came to approximately $10 billion in October, by Bloomberg’s calculations. Russia’s full-year 2026 budget deficit is expected to reach 3.2 percent of GDP.
Related: Russia extends diesel export ban to 31 January 2027 · Russia extends diesel and fuel export ban to January 2027
Source: International Energy Agency | Data: FRED — St. Louis Fed
