Russian Crude Oil Exports Sink To Six-Month Low

Russian crude oil shipments continue to show signs of cuts as seaborne exports plunged to a six-month low in the four weeks to July 16, tanker-tracking data monitored by Bloomberg showed on Tuesday.

Russia’s crude oil exports by sea fell to 3.1 million barrels per day (bpd) on a four-week average basis in the four weeks to July 16, down by 105,000 bpd from the four-week average to the previous four weeks to July 9, according to the data reported by Bloomberg’s Julian Lee.

In the week to July 9, Russia’s crude shipments started to show the first signs of a decline as they dropped, for the first time, below the levels from February, the baseline for Russia’s oil production cut of 500,000 bpd that Moscow says began in March.    

Russian crude oil exports by sea dropped by 205,000 bpd to 3.21 million bpd on a four-week average basis in the four weeks to July 9.

In the four weeks to July 16, shipments were further down, to 3.1 million bpd, which was 270,000 bpd below the level for the four weeks in February.

Compared to the recent high in the four weeks to May 14, Russian seaborne crude exports were 780,000 bpd lower in the four-week period to July 16, according to the data Bloomberg has compiled.

In early July, Russia said that it would cut its crude oil exports by 500,000 bpd in August in a bid to ensure a balanced market, and the reduction in exports would come from a further 500,000-bpd cut in oil production.

Vessel-monitoring data suggest that Russia has started to reduce supply to the market.  

Russia could deliver on at least part of its pledge to reduce oil exports next month as its western ports are planned to ship up to 200,000 bpd lower crude volumes in August compared to July, Reuters reported exclusively on Friday, quoting sources with knowledge of the export plans. 

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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