A cargo of Russian oil is heading for storage tanks in Ghana, a nation that exports crude itself and is on the doorstep of two regional supply powerhouses.
Europe is on track to import this month the highest volumes of diesel from the Middle East and Asia in seven years as the EU turns to alternative supply after the ban on imports of Russian diesel and other fuels took effect on February 5.
With EU bans on Russian oil and oil-product exports set to go into effect this year in response to Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, emerging market producers are poised to gain larger shares of an evolving market.
The price caps on Russian crude oil and refined products appear to be working, analysts and U.S. officials say.
Oil prices extended gains for a second session on Friday as the prospect of lower exports from Russia offset rising inventories in the United States and concerns over global economic activity.
Moscow mitigated restrictions on its energy industries, partially by granting favorable prices to China and India.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak has issued a new warning on a possible cut in the country’s oil production, with his prepared remarks being emailed to media in Moscow.
Clean product tanker rates soared last week after the European Union and G-7 nations targeted Russia’s petroleum sales. Restrictions on Russian crude exports began in early December.
As Russia’s March 500,000 bpd output cut nears, data from Bloomberg shows that Russia seaborne crude exports have already fallen to a six-week low, but the markets remain relatively unperturbed.
Things are different now in the global energy markets to the way they were just after Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022. Back then, things from the oil markets’ perspective looked bleak, with Europe importing around 2.7 million bpd of crude oil from Russia and another 1.5 million bpd of oil products, mostly diesel.