Marine transport of crude oil oil from the Russiafell for a third week to a two-month low, with declining volumes exacerbating lower prices and hitting the Kremlin’s war coffers.
Russia shipped 3.45 million barrels of oil a day in the four weeks to Nov. 9, down about 130,000 from the same period through Nov. 2, according to Bloomberg.
Last month, the US imposed sanctions on Russia’s two biggest oil producers, prompting some buyers in Asia to say they would reduce purchases. It’s hard to know what purchase cuts are actually happening, as tankers leave until the end of the year to reveal where they’re headed. About 35% of cargoes loaded in the past four weeks are on ships that do not yet show a final destination, and there has been a build-up of Russian crude oil on tankers that have not been delivered.
Of the ships with unknown destinations, most appear to be headed for Egypt’s Suez Canal, meaning they are almost certainly sailing to Asia. The ultimate buyers will only become apparent when those ships arrive — a journey that takes about a month from the Baltic Sea to India or two months to China, even without delays.
The reduced flow from Russian ports has coincided with lower prices, reducing revenue to fund Russia’s war in Ukraine. The value of Moscow’s oil exports fell to its lowest level since August in a four-week average. Separately, Finance Ministry data shows government oil revenue fell by nearly a quarter in October compared with a year earlier.