Key Russian ports on the Baltic Sea suspended oil and fuel exports after drone attacks - Reuters
Kyiv • UNN
Russia's largest ports on the Baltic Sea have suspended fuel shipments. Drone attacks caused fires in tanks and a market deficit.
The ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga on the Baltic Sea, Russia's largest oil product export ports, have suspended oil and fuel exports since Sunday after drone attacks, two industry sources told Reuters on Monday, UNN reports.
Details
The shutdown, it is noted, "exacerbates the global shortage caused by Tehran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the US and Israeli war against Iran."
Leningrad region governor Alexander Drozdenko stated that several fuel tanks in Primorsk caught fire after drone attacks, but did not mention the suspension of oil exports. It is not yet clear whether the port of Ust-Luga sustained any damage, the publication writes.
Russia's oil pipeline monopoly Transneft, which operates both ports, reportedly did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Primorsk, capable of exporting over 1 million barrels of oil per day, is a major market for Russia's flagship Urals crude and high-quality diesel fuel.
According to sources, Ust-Luga exported 32.9 million metric tons of petroleum products last year, and Primorsk exported 16.8 million tons.
Ust-Luga handles about 700,000 barrels of oil per day.
Oil shipments were also interrupted in September when Primorsk was attacked.
This month, oil exports from Russia's largest Black Sea port of Novorossiysk were also affected by drone attacks.