Russia cannot fully benefit from rising global oil prices amid the situation in the Middle East due to drone attacks on infrastructure and adverse weather conditions.
This is reported by Reuters, citing industry data and sources.
Thus, at the end of last week, shipments through the port of Novorossiysk were about 10 days behind schedule due to bad weather and drone attacks, one of which temporarily halted exports.
Therefore, despite growing demand, particularly from Asian countries — Thailand, Indonesia, China, and Sri Lanka — Russia is unable to increase its export volumes.
At the same time, oil shipments from key ports — Primorsk, Ust-Luga, and Novorossiysk — may decrease to approximately 1.7 million barrels per day in March, compared to the planned 1.8 million.
The biggest drop is expected at the port of Novorossiysk, where exports could be cut by almost half due to regular drone attacks and storms that disrupt infrastructure.
According to the International Energy Agency, in February, Russian oil and petroleum product exports had already fallen to their lowest level since the start of the full-scale war against Ukraine, and now the figures are falling even further.
- Demand for Russian oil has increased due to the situation in the Middle East and a 30-day exemption from US sanctions for countries that buy Russian oil and petroleum products, which are under restrictions and are currently stuck at sea.
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