Russia’s crude oil exports by sea rose to their highest level in three months in the four weeks to October 13, as seasonal refinery maintenance cut domestic crude processing rates, tanker-tracking data monitored by Bloomberg showed on Tuesday.
The four-week average exports from Russia’s oil export terminals inched up by 7,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 3.33 million bpd in the four weeks to October 13, compared to the previous four-week average, according to the data reported by Bloomberg’s Julian Lee.
The higher exports were largely attributed to the lowest refining rates in Russia since March, as several refineries are now under seasonal maintenance.
The low processing rates have left more crude available for exports.
The volume of exports was only slightly higher in the four weeks to October 13, but revenues from these shipments are estimated to have increased more, to the highest since the end of August, due to the rally in oil prices in early October.
The gross value of Russian crude oil exports rose to $1.52 billion a week in the 28 days to October 13, up from $1.48 billion per week in the four weeks to October 6, according to Bloomberg’s estimates.
Russia has raised the refining capacity volumes it expects to be idle this month by 67% compared to an earlier plan, due to scheduled maintenance at major refineries, Reuters estimates showed last week.
In October, Russia expects to have 4.0 million metric tons of refining capacity offline, per Reuters’s calculations based on figures provided by industry sources. While that’s lower than the idle capacity in September, at 4.5 million tons, it is still higher than previously planned.
Previously postponed maintenance at Rosneft’s Novokuibyshevsk Refinery in southwestern Russia and maintenance at a unit of Lukoil’s NORSI refinery have now increased the capacity that would be offline in October, thus leaving more crude for exports.
