Sanctions on Russian oil collapse its exports by 54% in the first week

Bloomberg reported on the situation.

Part of the plunge was due to repair works at a port in the Baltic, which have already been completed, but there was also a shortage of shipowners willing to carry key cargoes from the export facility in Asia.

Several other ports also showed a decline compared to the previous week.

The business outlet notes that the data should be treated with caution, as weekly flows depend on the timing of cargo planning, weather and even the quality of signals transmitted by the ships themselves.

EU sanctions, implemented on December 5, are designed to limit Russia's oil revenues. On the one hand, the bloc stopped purchases, but also banned the provision of key services that allow oil to be transported.

In the first full week after the EU ban on Russian oil imports by sea took effect, total shipments from the country fell by 1.86 million barrels per day, or 54%, to 1.6 million barrels.

The less volatile four-week average also fell, setting a new low for the year. Volumes in the Baltic Sea should rebound once the work is completed, but fixing problems in the East may take longer.

The volume of oil on ships bound for China, India and Turkey, the 3 countries that have become the only significant buyers of displaced Russian supplies, plus volumes on ships that do not yet have a final destination fell in the four weeks to Dec. 16 to an average of 2.53 million barrels a day.

While this is more than 4 times the volume shipped in the 4 weeks immediately before Russia's invasion of Ukraine in late February, it is the first time in 5 weeks that volume has declined.

On average, total seaborne exports fell by 266,000 bpd over the four-week period. Shipments to Europe almost completely stopped, and to Asia – declined.