What Sanctions? Russian Seaborne Crude Exports Hit New High in 2024 – Report

Russia's crude export market remains resilient in light of the Biden administration's repeated but unfounded claims that sanctions imposed on Moscow, particularly limiting seaborne crude shipments, are effective.

In the second week of April, the volume of Russian seaborne crude exports skyrocketed to its highest level in 11 months, vessel-tracking data obtained by Bloomberg News indicated.

According to the data, a total of 36 tankers loaded 27.6 million barrels of Russian crude within the above-mentioned period, an increase of about 3.9 million barrels from the previous week and the highest weekly total since May 2023.

The country’s seaborne crude flows in the week to April 14 rose by 560,000 barrels a day to 3.95 million, reaching a new high not seen since May 2023, the data showed.

The rise in flows, along with higher Urals crude prices, "boosted Moscow’s oil earnings," Bloomberg reported. Urals is known to be the most common export grade of crude oil from Russia.

In the seven days to April 14, the gross value of Russian crude oil exports rose to $2.15 billion from $1.82 billion earlier in the month. The four-week average income increased by about $170 million to $1.92 billion per week, according to Bloomberg data.

This comes after the news outlet reported that in the week to March 10, Russia’s seaborne crude flows climbed to 3.7 million barrels per day, the peak for 2024 at the time. The four-week average also jumped by around 50,000 barrels daily to 3.36 million barrels per day.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) in turn confirmed in last year’s reports that Russia remains one of the top countries in the OPEC+ framework, with an average daily crude output holding at 9.6 million barrels, second only to Saudi Arabia.

According to the IEA, "Russia seems to have few problems finding willing buyers for its crude and oil products."

The US and its Western allies have repeatedly tried to stifle Russian crude exports, notably by levying a price cap on Russian oil as part of the West's sanctions against Moscow, but to no avail.

Russian President Vladimir Putin pointed out that his country had reoriented its oil supplies to new markets by increasing the tanker fleet and establishing new payment mechanisms. He said that the government had prepared a plan for the development of export infrastructure, which stipulates increasing the supply of Russian oil to the countries of the Asia-Pacific region, Africa, and Latin America.

“As a result, within a short time it was possible to switch oil supplies to the fast-growing and promising markets of the world - the South and the East,” Putin stressed.