Russian oil exports have been declining for the fifth week — Novorossiysk did not ship a single barrel over the week

Russian seaborne oil exports have been decreasing for the fifth consecutive week. In the seven days through August 16, not a single cargo of Russian crude oil was shipped from Novorossiysk.

Bloomberg reports this citing tanker tracking data.

As recently as mid-July, Russia was exporting about 4.2 million barrels of oil per day by sea — one of the highest levels since the start of the full-scale war. At that time, strikes on refineries had actually increased shipments of crude abroad: oil that could not be refined domestically was exported.

Strikes have reached export infrastructure

After attacks on facilities near Novorossiysk, the situation changed. Loading at the Sheskharis terminal ground to a halt several times in late July, and now the disruptions are visible in actual seaborne shipment volumes.

For Russia, this is more sensitive than shutting down individual refineries. Novorossiysk remains one of the key channels of oil exports, providing hard currency revenues and budget income for the country.

High global oil prices are still partially compensating for the drop in supplies, and exports via the Baltic and the Far East continue. However, the five-week decline shows that Ukrainian strikes are starting to affect not only fuel refining inside Russia, but also the ability to sell oil abroad.