Russia’s crude oil exports rose to their highest level in more than a month, with tanker-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg showing overseas crude flows reaching 3.71 million barrels a day in the four weeks through September 27, the most since early August. In the final week of that period, shipments climbed further to 3.99 million barrels a day, pushed higher as tensions in the Middle East kept Brent crude above $100 a barrel and strengthened demand for Russian grades, which have recently traded at a premium rather than their customary discount. Loading operations have recovered at the key export terminal of Novorossiysk, though satellite imagery reviewed by Bloomberg shows some tankers spending considerably longer than usual at the port’s berths.
The surge in crude shipments is being driven in part by Moscow’s inability to process all of its output domestically after a wave of Ukrainian drone strikes on refineries, forcing more barrels into the export stream. However, the financial benefit to the Kremlin is being significantly eroded by its own ban on overseas diesel sales, imposed earlier this year to shore up the domestic fuel market and extended through January 2027. Russia raised its 2026 crude export forecast by roughly 150,000 barrels a day while cutting its refined-products shipment forecast by about 500,000 barrels a day, with diesel exports — which averaged around 1 million barrels a day before the summer strikes — remaining sharply curtailed. China and India continue to be the largest buyers of Russian crude by a wide margin, though tracking final destinations has grown harder as more cargoes are logged with interim ports such as Suez or Port Sudan before reaching their true endpoint.
Source: The Moscow Times / Bloomberg — https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/09/29/russias-crude-exports-rise-as-diesel-ban-limits-gains-from-higher-oil-prices-a93821
Tags: Russia, Crude Oil, Tanker Shipping, Sanctions
