Russia's huge Arctic oil business has faced serious disruptions due to US sanctions on tankers and storage facilities, which has led to a halt in the supply of crude oil, which had previously been snapped up by Asian buyers, in warehouses. This was reported by Reuters, according to UNN.
Details
It is noted that all three of Russia's Arctic oil fields - Novy Port, ARKO and Varandey, with a production of about 300,000 barrels per day - are facing interruptions in their operations.
The vessels and infrastructure required for Russia's oil business in the Arctic, which accounts for a tenth of its oil exports by sea, are unique.
Currently, the Umba and Kola, as well as more than a dozen small tankers used as shuttle oil shippers from the fields, are under US sanctions.
At least 15 tankers that came under US sanctions on Friday, including the Shturman Shcherbinin, Mikhail Ulyanov, and Aulis, have been actively involved in the transportation of Russian Arctic varieties over the past two months,
Smaller shuttle tankers were designed to operate in the northern seas and have a specific design that allows them to load more oil without compromising the keel clearance.
This could leave Russia with millions of barrels of unsold oil in storage. The limited storage capacity at all three projects means that a few weeks of interruptions in loading could lead to a reduction in production.
At the same time, the publication adds that Lukoil, which produces at the Varandeyske field, is not on the sanctions list.
Since all the oil from the Arctic projects is intended for export, there is no logistics system to feed it into Russia's domestic oil pipeline system.
This means that in the absence of buyers for these oil grades, the volumes will have to be stored in floating storage facilities.
Recall
Tankers carrying 2 million barrels of Russian oil changed course and stopped off the coast of China after US sanctions. Shandong Port Group banned the sanctioned tankers from entering ports.