Russian Oil Loses Ground Under Pressure From U.S. Sanctions

Indian refineries may reduce the share of Russian oil.

Russian oil shipments have declined significantly amid export disruptions and increased competition from Saudi Arabia. At the same time, Washington is stepping up pressure on Russia’s largest energy buyers, creating new risks for Moscow in key markets, according to Bloomberg (translation by Charter97.org).

Over the four weeks ending September 20, the average volume of Russian oil exports was 3.53 million barrels per day. Weekly shipments fell even further due to a halt in shipments from Novorossiysk.

The return of Saudi oil to the global market is creating additional pressure. Saudi Arabia is resuming operations on the “East-West” oil pipeline, which allows oil to be transported to the Red Sea, bypassing the Persian Gulf. The increase in supply is already affecting prices and intensifying competition for Russian suppliers.

Meanwhile, the U.S. has gained the ability to impose tariffs of up to 100% on the largest buyers of Russian energy. The blow could be particularly severe for India. According to Bloomberg, Indian refineries may reduce the share of Russian oil from more than 50% to 20–30%. In that case, the volume of purchases could drop by more than 1 million barrels per day.

Amid these changes, approximately 105 million barrels of Russian oil are “at sea.” Over the past week, 24.99 million barrels were loaded onto tankers—roughly 3.6 million barrels per day.

Part of the export volume is driven by disruptions at Russian refineries. Attacks on these facilities are taking processing capacity of up to 1 million barrels per day offline almost daily. Oil that cannot be processed domestically must be shipped abroad.

“China and India remain key buyers of Russian oil,” writes Bloomberg. Turkey and Egypt each account for approximately 80,000 barrels per day, while shipments to Syria have ceased entirely.

You can support the website Charter97.org

MULTI-CURRENCY ACCOUNT FOR ASSISTANCE:

Bank's name: Bank Millennium S.A.
Address: ul. Stanislawa Zaryna, 2A, 02-593, Warszawa
IBAN: PL97116022020000000216711123
SWIFT: BIGBPLPW
Name of the account holder: Fundacja “KARTA ‘97”
Purpose/title of payment: Donation for statuary aims

You can contact us by the e-mail charter97@gmail.com