Sharp rise in exports of Russian diesel fuel announced

Fuel shipments have bounced back after the country’s refineries boosted production, data has shown

Shipments of Russian seaborne diesel and gasoil surged by 11% in the first half of July, as production increased after seasonal maintenance at the country’s refineries, data from Refinitiv Eikon showed on Tuesday.

Exports amounted to about 1.9 million tons in the first 17 days of the month, compared to the same period in June. 

Türkiye and Brazil emerged as the top destinations for Russian fuel cargoes, taking about half of total supplies, or 631,000 tons and 300,000 tons, respectively, according to shipping data.

Among African buyers, Senegal and Morocco purchased the bulk of diesel and gasoil from Russia in July with 75,000 tons and 66,000 tons, respectively, while exports to Togo and Ghana declined to only 37,000 tons and 30,000 tons.

About 250,000 tons of Russian fuel with unknown destination have been tracked this month at ship-to-ship (STS) transfers near the Greek port of Kalamata and STS near Malta. Observations show that most of the cargoes identified as unknown will end up in Türkiye and Middle Eastern countries, according to traders.

Volumes of Russian diesel destined for the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) trading hub Fujairah remained unchanged from June and totaled 150,000 tons as of July 17, data showed.

READ MORE: Russia to overtake Saudi Arabia as top oil producer – IEA

No diesel cargoes were heading from Russian ports to Saudi Arabia this month, with only one registered as sailing to Riyadh in June.

Another 250,000 tons of diesel and gasoil cargos loaded at Russian ports since the start of July have yet to confirm their destination.

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