When will Russia restore oil export volumes?

Alexey Gromov, Principal Director on Energy Studies of the Institute for Energy and Finance, commented on the Sputnik radio station about the future prospects for Russian oil exports in terms of increasing sanctions pressure.

Oil deliveries from Russia to world markets may soon grow to the levels of early 2022, energy expert Alexey Gromov believes. In an interview with Sputnik radio, he explained what factors contribute to the increase in exports.

“Most buyers of Russian oil need it because they cannot find worthy alternatives to it, not only in terms of physical and chemical properties, but also in terms of price. After all, Russian oil is now sold at a significant discount, which makes it attractive even under the sanctions pressure," he said.

“Here, a simple formal trick is used when oil is loaded into a tanker in a Russian port, but the final destination of the fuel is not indicated in ship documents. Tanker owners and buyers, in principle, have the right to do this. Nobody obliges them to disclose the final destination of oil delivery. But this allows Russian oil to appear in world statistics as oil with an unclear delivery point, with an unclear specific recipient. This option is now actively used by foreign traders. Thus, they insure against potential sanctions if they continue to trade in oil from Rosneft and Gazpromneft It is easier for them to "depersonalize" all Russian oil and sell it to an "unknown" buyer," Alexey Gromov said.