Russia has begun exporting oil under an Arctic project — what benefits it will bring to Moscow
Kyiv • UNN
"Rosneft" has shipped oil from a new terminal on the Taimyr Peninsula. Exports currently amount to about 150,000 barrels per day.
Russia has begun commercial oil exports as part of Rosneft’s Vostok Oil project — a large-scale Arctic initiative on which Moscow is relying to increase crude oil production after years of delays and sanctions, UNN reports, citing Reuters.
Details
The publication notes that this step was taken at a time when Russia is seeking new sources of production growth, as the shale boom in the United States has enabled that country to overtake Russia and become the world’s largest crude oil producer.
In September, state-controlled company Rosneft began shipping crude oil on specialized ice-class tankers through its newly built Sever Bay terminal on the Taymyr Peninsula. This marked the start of operations for a project once touted as capable of producing up to 2 million barrels per day (or about 2% of global oil supplies).
Current export volumes are far below these ambitious plans. According to estimates by two industry sources, exports will average about 150,000 barrels per day this year, with most of the oil coming from Rosneft’s already operating fields — the Vankor group, the publication notes.
As new northern fields, including the Payakha field, are developed, Rosneft plans to increase exports to approximately 600,000 barrels per day in the second half of 2027 and to 1 million barrels per day by 2030, the company said.
In September, Rosneft shipped about 250,000 metric tons of crude oil from the Sever Bay terminal onto three tankers: the Panamax Valentin Pikul and the Aframax Akademik Gubkin (which delivered the oil to Murmansk for ship-to-ship transfers), as well as the Aframax Vladimir Monomakh (which headed to Asia via the Northern Sea Route). Two sources reported this, and the data from LSEG also indicate it. A fourth tanker is awaiting loading, according to LSEG data. The initial buyers of the oil, whose grade has not been disclosed, are currently unknown.
We will add
The article states that the project’s launch is taking place during a difficult period for Russia’s oil industry.
The United States has strengthened its position as the world’s largest crude oil producer, while oil production volumes in Russia are recovering with difficulty. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Russian oil and condensate production averaged about 9.9 million barrels per day in 2025, while the figure in the United States reached nearly 13.6 million barrels per day.
The Vostok Oil project is Russia’s main mechanism for ensuring long-term production growth. According to Rosneft, it encompasses 13 fields with estimated reserves of 50 billion barrels of low-sulfur oil and involves a connection to the Sever Bay terminal through a dedicated 790-kilometer pipeline and a storage hub designed for 100 tanks.
Western sanctions imposed after 2022 prompted the withdrawal of key international investors, including Trafigura and Vitol, forcing Rosneft to rely on domestic financing and asset sales, while the project itself experienced prolonged delays.
Despite these difficulties, the project remains strategically important: in addition to providing access to vast Arctic reserves, Sever Bay offers a reliable export route protected from drone attacks, to which Russian infrastructure in the Baltic and Black seas has been exposed amid the war Moscow is waging against Ukraine.