Russia is earning more from its oil exports than at any time since the early weeks of the Ukraine war, as soaring prices and an uptick in flows raise the value of shipments to the most since June 2022.
That is according to Bloomberg, Ukrinform reports.
War in the Middle East has driven global oil prices to multiyear highs and bolstered demand for Moscow’s barrels after Tehran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz to shipping. That has trapped more than 12 million barrels a day of Middle Eastern crude exports in the Persian Gulf, and helped to drain Russian volumes stored at sea as refiners scramble for alternative supplies.
A total of 28 tankers loaded 20.88 million barrels of Russian crude in the week to April 5, vessel-tracking data and port-agent reports show. There were no exports from Ust-Luga after drones caused extensive damage at the port. However, exports from Primorsk have resumed after being disrupted by multiple drone strikes last week. Shipments from the Pacific port of Kozmino also rebounded after an apparent four-day gap in loading operations the previous week.
In addition, the stockpile of Russian crude at sea is draining rapidly. By Sunday, the amount on the water had fallen to 105 million barrels, down from a peak of about 140 million in mid-January.
Indian refiners have snapped up Russian barrels previously stranded in the Arabian Sea. Deliveries to the south Asian nation rebounded to 1.9 million barrels a day last month, the most since June after the US issued waivers permitting purchases of Russian oil loaded onto tankers before March 12. Meanwhile, the amount delivered to China slipped back to a similar amount, down from a record 2.1 million barrels a day in February.
Urals prices rose for a fifth week, driven higher by the conflict in the Middle East, which further boosted global benchmarks, and a continued easing of the discounts Moscow had previously been forced to offer to move additional cargoes into China.
Using this measure, the export prices of Russia's Urals from the Baltic rose by about $12.50 to $85.73 a barrel and a similar increase took Black Sea cargoes to $84.07. The price of Pacific ESPO crude increased by $7.90 to average $92.11 a barrel. Delivered prices in India were also up, rising by $16.10 to $113.76 a barrel. All prices are according to numbers from Argus Media.
Still, the Kremlin's own war chest is being denied the full benefit of elevated prices by the lingering impact of Ukrainian drone strikes on export ports on its Baltic and Black Sea coasts.
And a two-week ceasefire in the Iran conflict, announced on Tuesday night, has sent oil prices tumbling. That may cut Moscow's income if the truce holds and oil is able to flow through Hormuz again.
As previously reported, oil prices fell below $100 per barrel after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran, conditional on the immediate and safe reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
