Russian Crude Flows Top 2023 Levels With Refineries Constrained
More crude diverted to export shipments as processing rates fall
Russia shipped 3.68 million barrels a day of crude in the week to May 5.
Russia’s crude flows rebounded in the seven days to May 5, with additional vessels leaving the major ports of Kozmino on the Pacific coast and Murmansk on the Arctic. The four-week average also rose.
Buoyed by last week’s increase, crude shipments for the year so far are running ahead of the average for 2023, with domestic oil processing still under pressure as refineries that have barely recovered from Ukrainian drone strikes enter seasonal maintenance. Attacks on processing plants continue, and Russia plans to reduce daily diesel shipments from its key western ports in May to the lowest since at least 2021.