BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 16. Russia's oil exports in January 2023 amounted to 8.2 million barrels per day (mb/d), increasing by 300,000 b/d, Trend reports citing the latest oil market outlook from the International Energy Agency (IEA).
According to the agency, this nearly all-time high volume, since February 2020, mainly due crude oil loadings rebounded from December’s low.
"Product exports held largely steady at around 3.1 mb/d ahead of the EU embargo on Russian products, which came into effect in early February. Estimated export revenues inched up by $0.2 billion to $13 billion, but were 36 percent lower year-on-year," the report said.
Meanwhile, Russia's crude supply to the EU fell to 1.3 mb/d, compared the levels of 3.9 mb/d before the war in Ukraine.
"Crude shipments slipped to 0.6 mb/d as seaborne volumes dried up with the exception of those destined for Bulgaria, while pipeline flows dropped to 400,000 b/d as Germany voluntarily suspended offtake through the Druzhba," the IEA added.
At the same time, crude shipments to China rose by 300,000 b/d month-on-month to 2.1 mb/d, which is the record-high. Exports to Türkiye rebounded from December’s low of 40,000 b/d to 180,000 b/d – still significantly lower than the approximately 350,000 b/d shipped from August through October.
"While loadings to other destinations were stable overall, new flows to countries such as Ghana (20 kb/d) and Indonesia (25 kb/d) emerged," the agency noted.
As the IEA pointed out, product exports were largely unchanged from the previous month, though loadings to the EU dropped from 1.2 mb/d to 740,000 b/d. The biggest decline came from diesel, which fell from 750,000 b/d in December to 470,000 b/d.
"Further reallocation of product trade flows is expected in the coming months, as the EU embargo and G7 price cap take full effect. EU countries have increased diesel imports from non-Russian sources year-on-year, most notably the US (+90 kb/d), China (+70 kb/d) and India (+70 kb/d)," the report said.
While Russian diesel fuel supplies to the EU were still substantial in January, its share of total EU imports fell to 41 percent. However, starting this month, a further 740,000 b/d of Russian products previously destined for Europe will have to be redistributed, unless the output of the refinery is adjusted to take into account the decrease in total exports, the IEA noted.
