Russia’s Crude Shipments Slump on Halt at Major Export Terminal

Maintenance at Primorsk loading site is most likely cause of sharp drop in seaborne flows

Russia’s seaborne crude shipments fell by nearly 1 million barrels a day

Photographer: Marcelo del Pozo/Bloomberg
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Russia’s seaborne crude oil flows to international markets slumped last week but maintenance work, rather than output cuts, is the most likely cause.

Crude flows through Russian ports fell by about 980,000 barrels a day in the week to June 25. Lower shipments were seen from all regions, but hardest hit was the Baltic, where fewer than half the normal number of tankers were loaded at Primorsk. The port accounted for more than half of the week-on-week drop in the country’s total seaborne crude exports.