Russian crude exports from Baltic and Black Sea ports have fallen to their lowest level in over one-and-a-half years according to tanker-tracking data acquired by Bloomberg.
Oil exports have been key to filling the Kremlin’s warchest, with profits enabled by shadow fleets that have helped Moscow bypass sanctions.
Bloomberg’s findings reveal that Russia’s Arctic exports have remained relatively stable, showing a minor drop of 2,000 barrels per day; Pacific exports, meanwhile, rose by 36,000 barrels per day.
However, exports from the Baltic ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga, and the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, plummeted from 2.2 million barrels per day in June to 1.8 million barrels per day in July. They now stand at their lowest for 19 months.
Total flows to China, meanwhile, fell by over 1.4 million barrels per day.
Bloomberg’s analysts attribute this fall to two principal factors: Russia’s growing compliance with its OPEC+ output target, and the country’s domestic refining recovery. This latter point has reduced the amount of oil available for export.
The fall in Russian exports has proved pivotal with regards to the global fall in shipments - last month, global shipments recorded a drop of 586,000 barrels per day.
The news comes as the European Commission has appealed to Hungary and Slovakia to relinquish Russian oil and to stop blaming Ukraine for the oil blockade. According to the EC, both countries have enough oil to meet their needs.
Bloomberg’s findings reveal that Russia’s Arctic exports have remained relatively stable, showing a minor drop of 2,000 barrels per day; Pacific exports, meanwhile, rose by 36,000 barrels per day.
However, exports from the Baltic ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga, and the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, plummeted from 2.2 million barrels per day in June to 1.8 million barrels per day in July. They now stand at their lowest for 19 months.
Total flows to China, meanwhile, fell by over 1.4 million barrels per day.
Bloomberg’s analysts attribute this fall to two principal factors: Russia’s growing compliance with its OPEC+ output target, and the country’s domestic refining recovery. This latter point has reduced the amount of oil available for export.
The fall in Russian exports has proved pivotal with regards to the global fall in shipments - last month, global shipments recorded a drop of 586,000 barrels per day.
The news comes as the European Commission has appealed to Hungary and Slovakia to relinquish Russian oil and to stop blaming Ukraine for the oil blockade. According to the EC, both countries have enough oil to meet their needs.
