Refineries did not notice the sanctions

Sergey Kondratiev, Deputy Head of the Economic department at the Institute for Energy and Finance, commented to the Kommersant newspaper about oil processing at Russian refineries in February.

According to preliminary data, the average daily export of oil products by sea in February decreased by 7% compared to the previous month, to 2.36 million barrels per day, the expert said.

“These data are based on tanker tracking data and will most likely be revised upwards later, since so far not all tankers that have left Russian ports are taken into account,” he says, adding that the export of oil products in February will most likely still turn out to be below January levels.

According to Mr. Kondratiev, in March, the average daily refining volume at Russian refineries will decrease by a maximum of 6%, since March is traditionally a month when activity falls, and this year, production cuts and overstocking of the diesel fuel market may have an additional negative impact. The expert does not exclude at the same time that the decline in production in March may be less than the announced 0.5 million barrels per day due to stable oil exports and high domestic demand: much will depend on the determination of the Ministry of Energy in meeting the stated goals.