Blow to Putin’s military budget. Russian oil exports decline – Bloomberg
Illustrative photo: Russian seaborne oil shipments have declined (Getty Images)
Russian seaborne oil shipments have fallen to their lowest level in two months. This is effectively depleting Russia's military budget, Bloomberg informs.
According to the outlet, in the four weeks leading up to November 9, Russia exported an average of 3.45 million barrels of oil per day, roughly 130,000 barrels less than during the same period before November 2.
Bloomberg noted that precise data on the decline in shipments is difficult to obtain, as vessels report their destinations with delays. About 35% of cargoes during this period are on tankers without a specified route, and the amount of oil yet to be unloaded continues to grow.
Most of these ships pass through the Suez Canal, which almost certainly indicates a route to Asia. Final buyers will only be known after the vessels arrive — the journey from the Baltic Sea to India takes about a month, and to China, about two months.
The reduction in shipments coincided with falling prices, lowering Russia’s revenue for financing the war in Ukraine. The average export price of Russian oil over the four weeks fell to its lowest level since August, and according to the Russian Finance Ministry, the state’s oil revenues in October dropped by nearly a quarter compared to last year.
Journalists also noted that the volume of Russian oil on tankers reached 350 million barrels, up 22 million since the beginning of September.
US sanctions
Earlier, US sanctions heavily impacted the Russian oil industry, which Washington announced a few weeks ago. The sanctions targeted Lukoil and Rosneft.
As a result, most Indian refineries have refused to purchase Russian oil.
A few days ago, US President Donald Trump confirmed that India has largely stopped buying oil from Russia.
Amid this, the US leader also promised to reduce the high tariffs on India that were imposed due to its purchases of Russian oil.
