Russia’s oil-product exports dropped on a weekly basis, led by a slump in shipments of diesel, naphtha and fuel oil.
The more volatile weekly flows for the period though Dec. 24 slipped to 2.5 million barrels a day, according to data compiled by Bloomberg from analytics firm Vortexa Ltd. That was about 666,000 barrels down from the revised figure for the period to Dec. 17.
However, the four-week average climbed to the highest in more than seven months amid a ramp-up in oil processing at Russian refineries. Oil-product flows from the nation reached 2.6 million barrels a day in the four weeks to Dec. 24, up by 157,000 barrels a day from the previous week.
The oil market is closely monitoring Russian exports to asses its production levels since Moscow stopped releasing official output data. In the previous OPEC+ meeting, Russia agreed to deepen its export cuts next quarter by 300,000 barrels a day for crude oil and by 200,000 barrels a day of its oil-product supplies, compared to the May-June 2023 baseline.
Here’s a breakdown of shipments from Russian ports for the week through Dec. 24:
Diesel and gasoil exports slumped by a quarter on a weekly basis to just above 1 million barrels a day, the lowest in three weeks. No shipments were observed to South America, while cargoes heading to the Middle East jumped to a 13-week high.
There still remains some restrictions on Russian winter-grade diesel exports as outflows are allowed only if the fuel is delivered to ports by pipeline and refiners need to keep at least 50% of their output at home.
Naphtha shipments dropped by 36% on a weekly basis to 382,000 barrels a day, the lowest in three weeks. Volumes to Asia have declined, while flows to Africa and the Middle East have increased.
Gasoline and blending component exports plunged to the lowest since mid-October to 23,000 barrels a day.
Meanwhile, jet fuel shipments more than doubled on a weekly basis to 106,000 barrels a day.
Fuel oil flows dropped by 17% on a weekly basis to about 692,000 barrels a day, even as cargoes bound for Africa jumped. Shipments of refinery feedstocks like vacuum gasoil gained 73% to 281,000 barrels a day.
Cargo volumes and destinations are likely to be revised if more port data or vessel information becomes available.
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