Russia has seen a record increase in its maritime oil exports
Russia has increased its seaborne crude oil exports to the highest level since the start of the full-scale war, but a significant portion of the shipped volumes has begun to accumulate at sea due to sales issues.
According to Bloomberg, the average volume of seaborne shipments over the four weeks leading up to July 5 reached 4.22 million barrels per day—a record high since 2022.
The rise in exports comes amid Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries. Due to damage to its refineries, Russia is forced to export oil that it cannot process domestically. At the same time, oil production in Russia is declining—in May, it stood at about 9 million barrels per day, which is below the targets set under the OPEC+ agreement.
Refining problems are already affecting the domestic market. Russian authorities are increasing subsidies to oil refineries and considering the possibility of importing fuel, while gasoline prices are rising, and some regions are experiencing shortages and lines at gas stations.
Despite record shipment volumes, far from all of the oil is reaching end buyers. In June, exports exceeded actual deliveries by approximately 500,000 barrels per day, causing tankers carrying Russian oil to begin accumulating near the Egyptian port of Mersa el-Khamra and near the Riau Archipelago off the coast of Singapore.
Source: Bloomberg.
More than 20 million barrels of Iranian oil are currently stranded on tankers in Asian waters due to the difficult situation in finding buyers.
Indian oil refineries have found themselves in an extremely advantageous position by agreeing to supply motor fuel to the aggressor country to help it overcome its domestic fuel crisis. At the same time, Russia is forced to significantly lower the prices of its crude oil for New Delhi.
