Russia did not manage to raise its oil export volumes in March, even after the US temporarily eased certain sanctions, Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SZRU) said on Thursday.
The agency, in a press release, said logistical constraints and disruptions at key export infrastructure were among the primary reasons shipments failed to increase.
JOIN US ON TELEGRAM
Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.
Figures cited from S&P Global Platts indicate that oil volumes handled at Russian ports slipped to 3.46 million barrels per day (bpd) in March, down slightly from 3.49 million bpd in February, the agency said.
Petroleum product exports followed a similar pattern, declining to 2.19 million bpd from 2.21 million the previous month.
The SZRU noted sharp fluctuations at specific terminals. At Primorsk, one of Russia’s key Baltic ports, export volumes fell significantly toward the end of March, dropping from more than 1.1 million bpd to approximately 732,000 bpd.
A comparable decline was recorded at the Ust-Luga terminal, where shipments fell to around 105,000 bpd between March 25 and March 31, compared with 471,000 bpd a week earlier.
The timing coincides with Kyiv’s unprecedented waves of drone strikes against Russia’s Baltic ports in recent weeks, including Primorsk and Ust-Luga, costing Russia an estimated $970 million in oil revenues in a single week
By the end of the month, activity involving petroleum products at the port had nearly come to a halt, the SZRU said.
Other Topics of Interest
