Russia’s refined petroleum exports have reached a new high, with shipments by sea averaging 2.5 million barrels per day in the first ten days of January, according to data from Vortexa, cited by Bloomberg. This represents an 11-month high and a 12% increase over the daily average in December.
The surge in exports comes despite the United States imposing new sanctions on Russia’s energy sector last week, in coordination with the UK. The latest round of sanctions targets major Russian oil companies like Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas, as well as dozens of ships allegedly transporting Russian oil in defiance of Western restrictions, dubbed the “shadow fleet” by the US.
Moscow has denounced the sanctions as “illegal” and warned that they could destabilize the global energy market, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskow stating that they could have serious consequences.
The latest sanctions round targets more than 180 tankers allegedly involved in Russian trade, with a focus on oil transportation. However, data from Vortexa shows that only around 4% of the oil products shipped between January 1 and 10 were transported on sanctioned tankers, with no irregularities found in the voyages of these ships.
The recent surge in Russian oil exports is primarily driven by the increasing shipment of diesel and heating oil, according to the report. The International Energy Agency (IEA) is cited by Bloomberg as stating that the revenue from refined product exports in December exceeded the decline in crude oil revenues, due to the rising gasoil flows and higher prices.
Diesel and gasoil exports, which make up around 40% of Russia’s refined product shipments, rose by 17% in January compared to December, reaching a 17-month high of 1.08 million barrels per day. The Baltic ports’ loading volumes, up by over 50%, contributed significantly to this growth.
Heating oil shipments also increased, reaching a 19% rise and a 10-month high of 792,000 barrels per day, with the strongest growth seen in deliveries to Africa.