Russia Boosts Crude Oil Exports to Record While Prices Tumble

Russia Boosts Crude Oil Exports to Record While Prices Tumble Despite surging shipments, Moscow's oil earnings have dropped to the lowest since March Russia's crude oil exports are surging to records, causing a major buildup of barrels at sea amid tumbling prices for Moscow’s key revenue earner. Four-week average crude shipments rose to 4.13 million barrels a day in the period to June 28, according to tanker-movements data compiled by Bloomberg. That was the highest since Russian troops invaded Ukraine in 2022, before which the country transported a far greater proportion of its oil by pipeline to Western Europe. The heightened exports mean that the amount of Russia’s oil at sea has climbed by about a third from a mid-April low, with cargoes beginning to build up at locations near Egypt and Singapore, signaling that Moscow may be facing growing difficulty in placing all its cargoes. Russia’s abundant shipments are helping to keep the world supplied with oil amid ongoing disruptions to Persian Gulf flows. While tankers are starting to move through the Strait of Hormuz after the US and Iran signed an interim peace deal, transits remain restricted. The uptick in shipments comes as Ukraine continues strikes on its neighbor’s oil refineries, potentially diverting into exports crude that can’t be processed at home. Kyiv’s recent attacks included targeting plants in Ufa, Yaroslavl, and Slavyansk-na-Kubani, a key fuel supplier for Russian-occupied Crimea. They follow two strikes on Moscow’s oil refinery, which may remain offline for the rest of the year, forcing President Vladimir Putin to acknowledge that the country faces a fuel supply squeeze. The value of Russia’s shipments hasn’t kept pace with the soaring quantities. Prices for Moscow’s key export grade haves tumbled in line with global benchmarks amid hopes that the interim Middle East peace deal that’s already boosting flows from the Persian Gulf will become permanent. Baltic-loading cargoes are worth half what they were in early May, according to data from Argus Media, and the price of Pacific-loading ESPO is also tumbling. That’s driven the value of Moscow's oil earnings to the lowest since March.