Russia’s Oil Exports Plunge To The Lowest Level Since March 2021

Total oil exports out of Russia slumped by 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) in June, to the lowest level in more than two years, according to estimates by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in its Oil Market Report published on Thursday.

Russia’s oil exports declined by 600,000 bpd to 7.3 million bpd in June, which was the lowest level of oil exports from the country since March 2021, per IEA’s estimates.

Revenues have also plunged, both compared to May and to the levels at this time last year.

Russia’s estimated export revenues dipped by $1.5 billion from May and stood at $11.8 billion in June. The revenues in June were nearly half the levels of a year ago, the IEA said.

Last week, data from Russia’s Finance Ministry showed that oil and gas revenues for the Russian budget slumped to $5.8 billion (528.6 billion Russian rubles) in June, down by 26.4% from the same month last year. Compared to May 2023, oil and gas budget revenues for Russia also dropped in June, by 7.4% from $6.3 billion (570.7 billion rubles) in the previous month, the data showed.

Russia said last week 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.

“Moscow has promised a further 500 kb/d cut to exports from August to stem declining prices and revenues, but may hold production steady as domestic oil demand rises seasonally,” the IEA said in its report today.

Tanker-tracking data monitored by Bloomberg showed earlier this week that 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. The latest four-week average export volumes fell below the 3.38 million bpd in the four weeks to February 26, after holding up above that level for months. 

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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