Russian oil exports collapsed due to drone strikes that paralyzed Baltic ports - Bloomberg
Kyiv • UNN
Attacks on the ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga reduced Russian oil supplies to 2.32 million barrels. Moscow's export revenues fell by more than $1 billion.
Russian oil exports have sharply fallen due to drone strikes that paralyzed Baltic Sea ports, Bloomberg reports, writes UNN.
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"Devastating drone strikes on key Russian ports have led to a sharp drop in the country's oil supplies to their lowest level in over a year and reduced funding for the Kremlin's war budget. Baltic shipments were the lowest since Russian troops invaded Ukraine in 2022," the publication states.
Repeated attacks on oil export terminals in Primorsk and Ust-Luga led to storage tanks catching fire and cargo handling operations being halted for most of last week, "cutting shipments through the ports to about a third of the previous week's level and reducing Moscow's oil revenues by more than $1 billion," the publication writes.
Oil tanks continue to burn in the port of Primorsk after the attack24.03.26, 00:13 • 21236 views
The attacks occurred just as the Kremlin was benefiting from the war in the Middle East, increasing exports to a market where oil prices had more than doubled in a month.
Oil supplies from Russia last week decreased by 1.75 million barrels per day to 2.32 million, but the impact on average four-week supplies was more restrained: shipments for the 28 days to March 29 fell by 280,000 barrels per day, to an average of 3.31 million, the lowest figure in two months.
The decline in oil supplies coincided with a sharp increase in shipments from tankers that had previously been idle at sea with Russian cargo. The volume of oil entering India this month has grown to almost 1.7 million barrels per day, compared to approximately 1.1 million barrels per day in February, after the US issued permits allowing the purchase of Russian oil loaded on tankers until March 12.
This began to deplete Russia's offshore oil reserves, which peaked at about 140 million barrels in January. By Sunday, the volume of oil on the water had again fallen below 120 million barrels, with deliveries exceeding the volume of shipments, the publication writes.
Russia has also found new buyers for its oil: the Philippines accepted two shipments of ESPO oil destined for loading in the Pacific Ocean – these are the first Russian shipments for them since 2021, according to tracking data.
Separately, it should be noted that tankers carrying Moscow's oil are increasingly avoiding the North Sea and the English Channel after the UK announced its intention to intercept and board vessels of Russia's "shadow fleet" in its waters. This leads to vessels heading to and from Russia's Baltic ports bypassing Scotland to the north, which increases travel time between the Baltic and the Mediterranean by approximately two days, or 25%, compared to the more common route between England and France.
Britain to begin forceful interception of Russian shadow fleet vessels26.03.26, 06:31 • 4821 view
In total, 22 tankers loaded 16.23 million barrels of Russian oil in the week to March 29, according to ship tracking data and port agent reports. The volume sharply decreased compared to 28.5 million barrels on 37 vessels the previous week.
On average, shipment volumes for the week to March 29 fell to 2.32 million barrels per day, representing a decrease of approximately 1.75 million barrels per day to the lowest level since February 2025.
The drop was caused by numerous drone strikes on Primorsk and Ust-Luga, which suspended shipments for most of the week. Cumulative exports from these two ports were the lowest on record since early 2022, the publication indicates.
Drones once again attacked the Leningrad region and the port of Ust-Luga31.03.26, 06:48 • 5990 views
An apparent four-day break in cargo operations at the Pacific port of Kozmino suggests that repair work may have temporarily halted shipments there, the publication writes.
Supplies are unstable, affected by weather, repair work, sanctions, and delivery times.
During the week, one shipment of Kazakh "Kebco" oil was made from Novorossiysk and one from Ust-Luga, the publication notes.
On average over four weeks, Moscow's gross export value rose to $1.79 billion per week for the 28 days to March 29, up from $1.7 billion for the comparable period to March 22. This was the highest figure since May 2024, with higher prices more than offsetting the drop in supplies, the publication writes.
Urals oil prices are rising for the fourth consecutive week, driven by the conflict in the Middle East, which further boosted global oil benchmarks, as well as a reduction in discounts that Moscow was previously forced to offer for transporting additional batches to China.
According to these data, export prices for Russian Urals oil from the Baltic Sea increased by approximately $11.30 to $73.24 per barrel, while a similar price increase for Black Sea shipments was $71.53. The price of Pacific ESPO oil rose by $9.50, reaching an average of $84.19 per barrel. Prices for deliveries to India also increased, rising by $14.80 to $97.69 per barrel. All prices are according to Argus Media data.
Russia increased crude oil sales to fund its war - Zelenskyy22.03.26, 17:50 • 6254 views
On a weekly basis, the value of exports for the 7 days to March 29 averaged about $1.44 billion, which is $1 billion less than the previous week. The decline in supplies was only partially offset by higher prices: the price of Urals rose by approximately $4.50 per barrel compared to the week to March 22, while the price of Pacific ESPO oil decreased by $3.60 per barrel.
Volumes of Russian oil shipments to Asian buyers, including those with no specified final destination, fell to 3.08 million barrels per day for the 28 days to March 29, due to an overall decrease in shipment volumes.
Although the volumes of Russian oil on tankers indicating China and India as destinations have continued to decline sharply in recent weeks, the volumes on vessels that have not yet specified a final destination have risen sharply, which subsequently allowed this trend to reverse, the publication writes.
Oil shipment volumes by tankers to Chinese ports for the four weeks to March 29 were 1.04 million barrels per day, down from a revised figure of 1.16 million barrels per day for the period to March 22. Volumes destined for India decreased to 620,000 barrels per day from a revised figure of 910,000 barrels per day for the previous comparable period.
The Philippines accepted the first shipments of Russian ESPO oil since 2021: one tanker has already unloaded, and a second was waiting to unload.
However, vessels that have not yet determined their final destination hold the equivalent of 1.35 million barrels per day. Of these, about 1.22 million barrels per day are on vessels from western Russian ports that indicate Port Said or the Suez Canal as their destination, or on vessels from Pacific ports without a clear delivery point, and another 130,000 barrels per day are on tankers that have not yet specified any destination.
Oil supplies to Turkey for the four weeks to March 29 decreased to approximately 130,000 barrels per day from approximately 140,000 barrels per day for the period to March 22.
Supplies to Syria for four weeks remained stable at 25,000 barrels per day, down from a recent peak of about 130,000 barrels per day observed in the period to mid-January. At the end of the week, two Russian tankers were anchored near the port, as satellite images show.