Russia's Oil Flows Slump to 2022-Low as Sanctions Squeeze Moscow
Four-week average cargoes fell by 600,000 barrels a day in eight weeks
Russia’s crude exports feel the effect of sanctions.
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/BloombergRussia's crude shipments slid to the lowest for 2022 in the final four weeks of the year as sanctions crimped Moscow’s exports. Cargoes bound for China, India and Turkey, which have become a lifeline for Russian supplies displaced from Europe, saw a third straight drop.
The country's overall seaborne flows fell by 117,000 barrels a day to 2.615 million barrels on a four-week average basis. Volumes also declined week-on-week, though they recovered from a mid-month, weather-related slump.
Inflows to the Kremlin's war-chest sagged amid a combination of G-7 and European Union sanctions designed to punish President Vladimir Putin for last February's invasion of Ukraine.
Storms did appear to play a significant role in disrupting flows from Black Sea and Pacific ports last month, with loadings at Kozmino halted by bad weather for more than 11 days in December, according to pipeline operator Transneft PJSC. But a shortage of vessels to haul cargoes over the much longer distances required following an EU ban on seaborne crude imports from Russia may also be having an impact.