Russia last month imported some 30,000 metric tons of fuels from South Korea to tackle supply constraints caused by continued Ukrainian drone attacks on refineries.
According to a Reuters report citing ship-tracking data from Kpler and Vortexa, at least two short-range tankers were loaded with fuels in South Korea and sent to Russia’s Far East. One has already arrived at its destination, the data also showed.
An earlier report by Bloomberg suggested Russian refineries’ throughput fell last month to the lowest since 2002, at 3.6 million barrels daily. The report said this was over 30% below the seasonal average.
Reuters noted in its report that the two South Korean cargos were of diesel fuel and some jet fuel, according to unnamed sources.
Crude oil production in Russia is rising, meanwhile. The July average stood at over 9 million barrels daily, according to unnamed sources cited by Reuters earlier this week. If verified, this would be up by about 100,000 barrels daily from June’s average of 8.93 million barrels daily.
Russia has been restarting previously struck refineries and shortages have been easing, according to local sources. However, Ukraine continues the attacks, with President Zelensky saying earlier this week another two facilities were struck deep inside Russia in “long-range” attacks, as reported by the BBC.
The attacks have prompted Russia to institute a ban on diesel fuel exports that was recently extended to the end of the year. This aggravates an already tight supply situation in global diesel fuel, with the problem especially acute for Europe. Russia has also restricted gasoline exports to supply the domestic market.
Ukrainian attacks have also interfered with the flow of Kazakh oil via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which terminates at the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. This forced Kazakhstan to slash oil production last month by about 50%.