What percentage of Russia's crude oil is refined domestically in 2024?
Executive summary
Russia produced roughly 10.5 million barrels per day (b/d) of total liquid fuels in 2024 while its refineries processed about 5.4 million b/d of crude oil that year, which implies that roughly 51% of Russia’s crude and liquids were refined domestically in 2024 (5.4 / 10.5 ≈ 51%) [1] [2].
1. The straightforward arithmetic — what the main datasets give
Using the principal public totals, Russia’s 2024 refinery runs of 5.4 million b/d against reported 2024 production of 10.5 million b/d yields a domestic refining share of about 51% in 2024 [2] [1]; alternative industry estimates that put refinery runs nearer 5.2 million b/d would lower that share to roughly 50% [3].
2. Why reporters sometimes quote different percentages
Different outlets and analysts use differing bases — “crude only” versus “total liquids” (which includes condensates and other liquids), calendar versus refinery-year data, or metric tons rather than barrels — and those choices shift the percentage materially; for example, Reuters and industry sources discuss refinery-throughput declines around 5.2–5.4 mb/d in 2024 while EIA and other compendia report 10.5 mb/d of total liquids production for the same year, producing the ~50–51% result [3] [1] [2].
3. The metric‑tonne view and how it maps to barrels
Russian reporting and secondary sources also quote tons: several outlets cite domestic refining of roughly 267–290 million tonnes in 2024 or historically, and those tonnage figures can produce similar shares when converted to barrels depending on the conversion factor used and whether condensates are counted [4] [5]. Using the commonly reported 267 million tonnes refined in 2024 produces an equivalent picture of mid‑50s percentage points when reconciled to production totals, but conversions and scope (crude vs products) matter [4] [5].
4. What the roughly 50% domestic refining share actually signifies
A roughly half‑refined outcome reflects a long‑standing Russian pattern: the country produces considerably more crude than it processes domestically and exports a large share of crude and refined products abroad, so a ~50% domestic conversion implies Russia remained both a major exporter of crude and a significant exporter of refined products in 2024 [5] [4].
5. Short‑term disruptions and why the 2024 share is not static
Ukraine’s drone campaign and maintenance cycles shifted refinery runs during 2024 — analysts note temporary drops to about 5.2 mb/d in some months and a 3% annual decline in product output to about 267 million tonnes — but the gap between nominal capacity and actual runs (spare capacity) and rapid repairs meant aggregate annual refining stayed near the mid‑5 mb/d range, keeping the domestic share near 50% [3] [4] [6].
6. Data limitations, definitional traps and alternative readings
Public sources diverge on definitions (crude vs liquids vs refinery runs), timing, and unit conversions; nominal refinery capacity is higher than actual runs and “refined domestically” can be measured as throughput, processed crude, or finished products consumed domestically — each choice gives a somewhat different percentage, so the 50–51% figure should be read as an approximate, cross‑checked result rather than a single audited statistic [6] [7].
7. Bottom line
Based on authoritative public figures — reported 2024 production of about 10.5 million b/d and refinery processing roughly 5.2–5.4 million b/d — roughly half of Russia’s 2024 crude/liquid output was refined domestically, best expressed as about 50–51% [1] [2] [3].