Russia's average daily oil output has dropped to a three year-low after contaminated crude clogged its main export route. Average oil output was 10.87 million barrels per day (bpd) on June 1-3, down from an average of 11.11 million bpd in May, two sources familiar with official data said on Tuesday. The figure for the first three days of June is the lowest since mid-2016, according to Reuters calculations.
The decline follows the discovery in mid-April of contaminated Urals crude in the Druzhba pipeline to Europe. Exports via the pipeline's southern route have resumed, but the northern route that supplies Poland and Germany remains shut. A full clean-up of pipeline systems will take months, according to official estimates. Russia's oil pipeline monopoly Transneft has promised to supply clean Urals crude to the Polish border on June 9. The country's energy ministry declined to comment on the latest production data.