In the week to April 8, Russian outgoing crude averaged nearly 4 million barrels per day (bpd), the highest volume coming out of Russian ports this year. While Russia has been sending the highest level of slow cargo since the beginning of the year, not all cargoes have a final destination on their trackers and many are destined for long journeys from European ports through South Africa en route to Asia, according to the data. Bloomberg Tanker Monitoring. Russian missions have recovered from the previous two weeks of lower volumes, according to the data. He also noted that there are indications that traders are working to bring more Russian crude to Asia, as many companies and countries in Europe are in a state of “self-sanction” and are reluctant to take Russian oil. For example, the northwestern European market for Russia’s Urals crude oil flagship is disappearing. Before the Russian War in Ukraine, northwestern Europe took many Urals from the Baltic ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga. Some of these shipments are now reaching Asia, where buyers such as India and China do not shy away from Russian crude and even take advantage of the record discounts on Russian oil sold in the direct market over Dated Brent. The journey from Russia’s Baltic ports to Asia is much longer, but some traders and refineries seem to have concluded that the big discounts are worth it. Asian buyers continue to buy one of Russia’s key grades of crude shipped from Far Eastern ports as Sokol shipments for May shipments to Asia have already been depleted, traders told Bloomberg last week. Crude from the Sakhalin I project, which ExxonMobil said it would withdraw after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, was sold either for a fee or on the spot in South Korea, China and India, Bloomberg sources reported. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More top readings from Oilprice.com:
