Russia’s Seaborne Crude Exports Surge to the Highest This Year

Overall first-quarter exports were in line with Moscow’s OPEC+ pledge

Crude shipments from Russian ports exceeded 3.7 million barrels a day.

Photographer: Ali Mohammadi/Bloomberg
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Russia’s seaborne crude exports jumped in the final week of March to the highest so far this year, even as average shipments in the first quarter were close to the level pledged by Russia to its OPEC+ partners.

Last week’s rebound came amid an easing of the high winds that repeatedly hampered loadings at Russia’s main Pacific port in recent weeks. While those earlier storms are still affecting four-week average flows, their impact is lessening. The less-volatile measure of shipments reached its highest since early November in the period to March 31, tanker-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg show.