Russian oil exports grow due to return of earlier restricted vessels

Bloomberg reports that oil exports from Russia have increased over the past two weeks. Nearly half of the tankers that were previously subject to Western restrictions are now transporting Russian crude again.

The total volume of oil shipped from all Russian ports in the four weeks ending April 27 was 3.26 million barrels per day (bpd). This figure is up 1% from the same period the previous week. However, it remains approximately 190,000 bpd lower than the recent high recorded last month.

According to Bloomberg, the United States is in no hurry to impose new restrictions against Russia. The news agency states that at least 18 of the 39 vessels blacklisted by the US in 2023 and 2024 are now regularly transporting oil from Russian ports. Some other tankers are used in trade with Iran and Venezuela.

In the week ending April 27, 32 tankers shipped 23.72 million barrels of Russian oil, according to vessel tracking data. This was an increase from the 23.45 million barrels carried by 31 vessels the previous week.