MOSCOW: Russia’s daily oil exports from its western ports are set to rise by some 100,000 barrels per day to 1.97 million bpd in April from March as the impact of seasonal domestic refinery maintenance outweighs output cuts under an OPEC+ agreement, Reuters calculations based on data from three sources showed.
According to the data, exports and transit of Urals, Kazakh KEBCO and Siberian Light oil from Primorsk, Novorossiisk and Ust-Luga will increase by some 5% in April compared to March. The sources said the growth in shipments next month will be due to improved weather conditions, as well as higher availability of tankers. In January, the United States imposed sanctions on 183 vessels involved in the transportation of Russian energy, complicating exports. In April, the availability of the fleet will improve, traders said, as new non-sanctioned tankers have joined the fleet shipping Russian oil.
According to a preliminary plan, the volume of idle primary refining capacity at Russian refineries in April was set to decrease from March by 0.7 million tons to 2.9 million tons.
However, recent drone attacks on Russian refineries and the revision of the maintenance plan will likely lead to an increase in idle capacity next month, the sources said.
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