Russian refineries report lower throughput in Q2

Russian oil companies reported lower refinery throughput in Q2 2020 due to reduced demand for oil products. Lukoil's results for Q2 and H1 at its refineries in Russia and Europe were down thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company reported 6.9 percent lower throughput at 20.22 million mt. For Q2 it reported 9.283 million mt throughput, 15.1% down. This was due to maintenance and optimization at its Ukhta and Nizhny Novgorod refineries. Meanwhile its Perm and Volgograd refineries maintained throughput at the same level as in Q1, according to Lukoil. Rosneft said that its Russian refineries processed 21.5 million mt in Q2, which was 17.2% down on the quarter and 6% down on the year. The lower throughput was due to optimization of processing due to low margins as well as reduced demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Over H1, throughput was stable on the year at 47.4 million mt.