Russian oil exports were estimated to be down by 2.5 million per day, approximately one-third of normal, after the invasion of Ukraine, according to analysts at Energy Intelligence.
Early assessments of shipping data and conversations with traders indicate that 1.5 million barrels per day of crude oil and 1 million barrels per day of refined products are not making it to the market.
The downturn in exports has not impacted sales by pipeline to Europe, 1 million barrels per day, and China, 800,000 barrels per day. Rather it is crude being shipped from Russian ports, which is having difficulty finding buyers.
WTI crude was up by more than 4% in afternoon trading with crude oil prices fluctuating between $95 per barrel and $115 per barrel over the course of the week.
