Russia’s Oil Exports Plunged to a 5-Month Low in April

Russian exports of crude oil and refined oil products fell in April to their lowest level in five months, according to estimates from the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Russia exported a total of 7.3 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil and petroleum products in April, the IEA’s monthly report showed, as carried by Bloomberg.

The shipments in April were 6.4% lower compared to the previous month, according to the IEA’s estimates.

The lower Russian exports of both crude and oil products were the result of reduced refining capacity in Russia due to drone attacks from Ukraine and planned production cuts as part of the OPEC+ agreement. 

Yet, Russia’s oil and gas revenues hit $13.5 billion (1.23 trillion Russian rubles) in April, Russian finance ministry data showed earlier this month. The Kremlin received nearly double the oil income for the Russian budget that it did in the same month of 2023, per Bloomberg’s estimates.

The weaker Russian ruble and the higher price of Russia’s flagship Urals crude amid higher international oil prices contributed to higher revenues from oil-related taxes and from all total oil and gas sales, per Bloomberg’s calculations.  

The doubled revenues from oil for Russia highlight the difficulties of the Western countries to reduce Putin’s income from oil, despite the price cap on Russia’s oil and the ramp-up of the sanctions enforcement in recent months.

Banned in the West, Russian crude finds buyers in China and India, while Russian LNG – not sanctioned by the EU or the U.S. – is arriving at European ports, which have increased the intake of LNG cargoes in the past two years, including from Russian LNG export facilities.

Last month, Reuters calculations also showed that higher oil prices were expected to double Russia’s oil and gas revenues in April compared to the same month last year. Russia was expected to pocket $14 billion (1.292 trillion Russian rubles) from oil and gas in April, according to the estimates. That’s double compared to the $7 billion (648 billion rubles) Russia received from oil and gas in April last year.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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