Russia’s seaborne diesel and gasoil exports fell in February as decreasing production, storms and drone attacks weighed on fuel supplies, LSEG and market sources data showed.
According to Reuters calculations based on data from industry sources, Russia’s offline primary oil refining capacity rose in February to about 3.5 million metric tons, up from 2.3 million in January.
A rise in idle capacity means refineries produced less fuel.
Several Russian refineries were also hit by drone attacks, including those owned and run by Rosneft ROSN, Ryazan oil refinery, Syzran and Saratov refineries and Lukoil’s LKOH Volgograd refinery.
In total, diesel and gasoil exports from Russian ports fell last month to about 3.6 million metric tons, down 6% from January, Reuters calculations based on LSEG and market sources data showed.
Turkey and Brazil remained the main importers of Russian diesel and gasoil in February, according to shipping data.
Diesel and gasoil exports from Russian ports to Turkey fell last month to 1.1 million tons, down 11% from January, while loadings for Brazil fell 10% on a monthly basis to 0.47 million tons.
Russia’s February diesel and gasoil exports to African countries were nearly 17% lower than the previous month and totalled about 1 million tons, with Morocco, Ghana and Senegal among the top importers, shipping data showed.
In February, Russia sent diesel cargo from the Baltic port of Primorsk to Syria – the first known such direct supply to the Middle Eastern country in more than a decade, LSEG data showed.
Tankers carrying about 250,000 tons of Russian diesel are bound for ship-to-ship (STS) transfers near the Greek islands and the Cyprus port of Limassol.
Also, vessels loaded with about 325,000 tons of diesel in Russian ports have their destination marked as “for orders”, meaning their discharge points are either not yet known or not declared.
Source: Reuters
