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Russian oil exports fell last week, with average shipments of around 3.63 million barrels per day (bpd) between March 17 and 23, down by 26.4 percent compared to the previous week, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing industry data it had seen.
While most Western countries—with the exception of the United States and the UK—have not imposed embargoes on Russian oil imports, many buyers in Europe and the West have tried to steer clear of Russian shipments amid concerns over future embargoes and/or sanctions, or as a “self-sanctioning” precaution amid public pressure to stop financing Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.
While seaborne exports out of Russia appear to be already hit by Western buyers’ reluctance to purchase Russian oil, Russia’s oil production was basically unchanged in the week March 17 through March 23, per Bloomberg calculations based on the industry data it has seen. Russian oil production averaged 11.08 million bpd in the week to March 23, down by just 0.3 percent compared to the week prior.
Russia will have to shut in some of its oil production as it will not be able to sell all the volumes displaced from European markets to other regions, with Russian crude production falling and staying depressed for at least the next three years, Standard Chartered said earlier this month.
International oil majors have already said they would stop buying Russian oil, either immediately or via a phase-out of such purchases by the end of this year at the latest.
Meanwhile, exports of Russian crude oil to India have surged since the start of the month as sanctions bit in, forcing traders in Europe to avoid Russian cargos, the Financial Times reported in mid-March, citing data from Kpler. The average daily rate of Indian purchases of Russin crude has stood at 360,000 bpd, which was four times the rate of daily purchases last year.
