Russia shipped the least crude in a month as operations at its key Baltic port of Primorsk were paused, most likely for maintenance work. In the four weeks through Oct. 18, overseas crude flows fell to 3.59 million barrels a day, down 110,000 barrels a day from the period to Oct. 11, according to tanker data compiled by Bloomberg.
Satellite images of the Primorsk terminal near St. Petersburg showed no tankers berthed at jetties in the middle of the week, while industry reports and automatic tracking signals pointed to a three-day gap in arrivals and departures. Similar interruptions in the past have been linked to maintenance. The dip is likely temporary, as activity at Primorsk picked up again as the week ended and flows through the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk recovered.
Separately, Kyiv resumed attacks on Russian oil refineries after Moscow continued strikes on power and water infrastructure across Ukraine despite a US announcement of an "energy ceasefire." The Ryazan plant southeast of Moscow was forced to halt one of its four primary crude processing units after an attack on Thursday. Still, the intensity of Ukrainian strikes on fuel-production sites has decreased, with only one attack confirmed in the week to Oct. 18, down from three the previous week.
Russia pumped 8.64 million barrels a day of crude in September, the lowest since mid-2020 and the 10th straight monthly drop in production estimates. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has taken steps that appear to aid Moscow's oil trading, including waiving new sanctions and authorizing the sale of shadow fleet tankers. In the week to Oct. 18, Russian crude shipments averaged 3.13 million barrels a day, the lowest since March.
Source: Bloomberg Markets · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing