Türkiye has agreed with Russia’s Gazprom on deferring payment for part of the natural gas it imported after a price surge last year, Energy Minister Fatih Dönmez said.
Global refining margins have halved since February as Russian crude exports remain elevated despite sanctions, boosting fuel output from China and India, Reuters has reported, noting the coming boost in global refining capacity.
Russian plans to increase natural gas exports to China by almost 50 percent this year, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak has said.
Pakistan has placed its first order for discounted Russian crude oil, a move that could potentially reduce the country’s reliance on Middle Eastern oil producers. The order amounts to around 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Russian crude oil, which does not include related products.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE, traditional Middle Eastern allies of the United States, are not shying away from importing, storing, trading, or re-exporting Russian fuels.
A report from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air suggests that a loophole in the G7 price cap is undermining sanctions on Russian oil.
President Vladimir Putin said Russia would see higher oil and gas revenues by the end of the second quarter and that “positive trends” across the economy were gathering pace due to rising global oil prices.
Russia’s crude oil exports by sea plunged last week, the most since December 2022, to below 3 million barrels per day (bpd), the lowest level in eight weeks, tanker-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg showed on Tuesday.
The European Union’s embargo on Russian oil products, which went into effect on February 5, has resulted in the diversion of Russian diesel not only to Asia, Africa and the Middle East, but also increasingly to Latin America.
Russia has reduced its crude oil production by 700,000 bpd in March, a person familiar with Russian Energy Ministry figures told Bloomberg.