What Kommersant, RBC, Vedomosti, Interfax and Forbes Russia report — selected and summarized in English every morning, for readers who don't read Russian. Analysis-grade sourcing, no wire rehash. Data context in the Russia Terminal. Regional wires: Central Asia · Caucasus.
OPEC+ lifted Russia's September output ceiling and warned that attacks on energy infrastructure are raising market volatility, while gas flows to Europe through Turkish Stream fell year on year in July.
Russia may produce up to 9.949 million barrels per day in September, an increase of 62,000 b/d, under the decision taken by the eight OPEC+ members that met on Sunday. The group as a whole raised September output by 188,000 b/d; delegations from Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman took part, and the next meeting is set for 6 September. Bloomberg, cited by Kommersant, reported that OPEC+ will subsequently pause quota increases, which would fix the ceiling on Russian export volumes for the rest of the year.
Source: Kommersant, 2 Aug 2026
The JMMC, whose members include Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Algeria and Venezuela, called the protection of international maritime routes essential for uninterrupted energy supply and said it was concerned about attacks on energy assets. Repairing damaged infrastructure to full capacity is costly and slow, the committee said, and any disruption of shipping lanes increases market volatility. The statement follows the drone attacks on tankers at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium marine terminal near Novorossiysk in July, which forced Kazakhstan to cut output. The committee reviewed May and June production data and meets again on 4 October.
Source: Interfax, 2 Aug 2026
The European leg of Turkish Stream carried 1.366 billion cubic metres of Russian gas in July 2026, 5% less than a year earlier, according to European transmission operators. Average capacity utilisation rose to 86% from 81% in June, and volumes for the year to date are up 4% at 10.106 bcm. The line is the only remaining pipeline route for Gazprom gas into southern and southeastern Europe; it moved 18.06 bcm in 2025 against a design capacity of 31.5 bcm per year across both strings.
Source: Interfax, 1 Aug 2026
Russia's Social Fund raised insurance and funded pension payments for 9.3 million pensioners who worked during the past year, applying the adjustment automatically and paying the higher amounts on the standard schedule. The recalculation covers old-age and disability pensioners whose employers paid contributions, plus survivor pensions where new funds were credited to the individual account. Fund chairman Sergei Chirkov told TASS the size of the increase depends on the recipient's salary and is capped at three pension coefficients. The cap limits the effect on household spending power, and the measure is a marginal incentive for pensioners to stay in employment.
Source: Kommersant, 1 Aug 2026