An oil refinery in Russia’s Perm region was targeted by drones on the morning of September 25, adding another potential disruption to an already strained global diesel market.
Russian and Ukrainian sources reported explosions in the Perm region during an overnight wave of drone attacks in several areas of Russia. Local authorities confirmed that an industrial facility in Perm was targeted, although they did not immediately identify the site. Russian and Ukrainian monitoring channels would soon identify the facility as the Perm oil refinery operated by LUKOIL’s Permnefteorgsintez. It was not clear whether damage was widespread.
The report said fires were seen at the affected facilities and the Perm refinery was among the industrial sites that were targeted. The facility has been attacked several times in the past few months (April, May, July and August), and there have been attacks on it, including attacks in April, May, July and August. Operations were suspended after an August 21 attack, also reported.
At a critical point in the world refined-fuel market, the latest incident is a reminder that Russia is one of the world’s largest diesel suppliers and years of attacks on its refining facilities have raised concerns about its availability of refined petroleum products.
At the same time, the United States is facing its own diesel supply and pricing pressures. US diesel prices have soared to new records, and average prices recently climbed above $6.50 per gallon. That has pushed up costs for trucking, agriculture, construction and other industries dependent on diesel production.
BREAKING: Ukrainian drones have just struck Russia's Perm oil refinery this morning, one of the country's largest and one of six refineries that together produce about half of Russia's diesel, with the refinery now on fire.
— Megh Updates 🚨™ (@MeghUpdates) September 25, 2026
This comes as the US, the world’s largest diesel… pic.twitter.com/rw7DCHRzBM
The Trump administration is also considering ways to increase domestic diesel availability. News earlier this week suggested that Washington was considering a temporary 90-day ban on diesel exports. But the White House later denied that it was preparing a blanket export ban. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has also said the administration is looking at other ways to increase domestic supplies.
One option under consideration is a voluntary restriction on diesel exports by US refiners. Wright had reached out to top US refining companies in the past few months to see if they’d support such a measure as the administration searches for alternatives to a formal export ban.
So far, US restrictions have raised concerns among global fuel buyers. The European Union said disruption of US diesel exports to the United States and Europe could affect both the US and European markets. The US is a major diesel supplier to Europe, and supplies from Russia and other countries producing diesel have been disrupted.
So, the Perm refinery strike comes at a time of tightening international refined-fuel supplies. A sustained shutdown of a major Russian refinery could be another blow for diesel markets, particularly if it coincides with restrictions on US exports.
But the full impact of the latest Perm incident remains unclear. There is no public assessment of damage and no word on how long refinery operations might be affected.
The combination of attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, elevated fuel prices and uncertainty surrounding US diesel exports is putting the global diesel market under increasing pressure. Refinery outages and government decisions will be of great interest to traders in the weeks to come as the current supply squeeze is only going to get worse.
