Russia's Urals oil price discount to global benchmark Brent opened up by six percentage points in November to 23%, the Russian central bank said on Thursday in its review.
The discounts, though less severe than those seen after the initial wave of Western sanctions in 2022, reflect mounting pressure on Russian oil revenues – a critical lifeline for Moscow's budget.
The U.S. last month imposed tough restrictions on Russian oil giants Lukoil and Rosneft.
The central bank said the discount stood at close to 15% in the second and third quarters, reaching 17% in October.
Russia's oil and gas revenue may fall in November by 35%, according to Reuters calculations, due to lower oil prices and a stronger ruble.
The central bank also said that Russian oil output averaged at 8.995 million barrels per day (bpd) in the second quarter, rising to 9.38 million bpd by October as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies, known as OPEC+, have embarked on unwinding previous voluntary production cuts.
Despite the sanctions, Russia's oil exports from western ports remain near peak levels, supported by OPEC output allowances and domestic refinery outages caused by Ukrainian drone strikes.
