Sanctions hit hard as Russian oil production falls — Bloomberg
Russia produces 250,000 barrels less than it could (illustrative photo: Getty Images)
Russia faced a sharp decline in crude oil production in December 2025, the largest drop in the past 18 months. The decline was driven by Western sanctions and Ukrainian strikes on oil infrastructure, Bloomberg reports.
Sources familiar with Russian government oil production data told the outlet that in December, Russia produced 9.326 million barrels of crude oil per day, which is 100,000 barrels less than in November and 250,000 barrels below the level allowed under the OPEC+ agreement.
The decline is due to Western sanctions hitting Russia's two largest oil producers. Fearing secondary sanctions, large volumes of oil have become stuck at sea. Ukraine has also launched a campaign of large-scale attacks on Russia's oil infrastructure.
"Russian cargoes are amassing at sea amid signs of reticence among some buyers to take them following sweeping US sanctions targeting the nation's two largest producers," the publication notes.
As of the end of December, more than 185 million barrels of crude oil were stuck at sea in tankers due to sanctions. Key buyers of Russian oil, including India, are seeking ways to circumvent US sanctions.
At the end of 2025, Ukraine, for the first time, attacked Russian oil fields in the Caspian Sea and also struck tankers of Russia's shadow fleet transporting sanctioned oil in circumvention of Western restrictions.
"The ship attacks forced some vessels carrying the sanctioned barrels to take roundabout routes and made at least one tanker owner more wary of dealing with Russia," the outlet notes.
The previous decline of this scale occurred in June 2024, when Russia was forced to cut oil production under an agreement with OPEC+. Since then, production has continued to increase, as the Kremlin has historically failed to comply with cartel agreements.
At the end of October, the United States imposed sanctions on two Russian oil companies, Lukoil and Rosneft. US sanctions affected all companies' foreign assets and led to a significant drop in the capitalization of the Russian giants.
At the same time, Ukraine took its own step. Two tankers from Russia's shadow fleet, Kairos and Virat, were hit by SBU Sea Baby drones with enhanced warheads. This was a joint operation by the 13th Main Directorate of the Ukrainian Security Service, the military counterintelligence service, and the Ukrainian Navy.
As of early January 2026, sanctions had reduced Russia's weekly oil export revenues by $500 million. US President Donald Trump also gave the green light to a bipartisan sanctions bill against Russia, which introduces 500% tariffs for buyers of Russian energy resources.
