Russia’s refined petroleum exports have surged to their highest level in eight months following the end of the autumn maintenance season at refineries, according to data compiled by Bloomberg on Wednesday.
In the first 20 days of November, Russian fuel exports by sea averaged 2.3 million barrels per day (bpd), marking an 18% increase compared to October. The figures were based on estimates from Bloomberg and data from analytics firm Vortexa.
The increase in refined product exports comes as several refineries resumed operations after maintenance, ramping up crude processing and reducing the amount of crude oil available for export.
Despite the rise in refined product shipments, Russia’s crude oil exports by sea declined in the four weeks ending November 24, falling by the largest volume since July. Bloomberg’s tanker-tracking data revealed that Russia exported an average of 3.12 million bpd of crude oil during this period, down 150,000 bpd from the previous four-week period.
The drop in crude shipments was mainly seen at Russia’s western ports, particularly the Baltic and Black Sea, which handle the majority of exports to India.
Analysts are closely watching Russia’s crude production and processing levels, as Moscow has classified this information since the invasion of Ukraine.
Among the refined products, diesel and naphtha exports saw the largest increases in November. Diesel shipments rose to the highest level since July 2024, while naphtha exports surged to the highest since March 2023, according to Bloomberg’s data.
Looking ahead, Russian fuel exports could continue to rise, as the country plans to lift its gasoline export ban earlier than originally expected, possibly by the end of this year.
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