Page 34 - RusRPTMar23

reaction to the recent two rounds of embargoes imposed by the EU in December and February.
The country exported 3.6mn barrels of crude oil a day from its ports in the seven days through to February 17, marking a 26% increase w/w and flows were at multi-week highs from all its Baltic, Black Sea, Arctic, and Pacific terminals, with a less-volatile four-week average of exports also rising, Bloomberg reports.
The Grace Felix had departed from Azerbaijan and was allegedly loaded with Russian oil in Greek waters, near the port of Kallamata, from another ship, the TV station said. While Russia used to send the majority of its oil via the Baltic port of Primorsk to destinations in Europe, since the war started a year ago Black Sea ports have seen a 25% increase in volumes as Russia’s customer profile changes and the importance of Africa and Asia grows.
As bne IntelliNews reported at the start of the conflict in Ukraine, oil sanctions have been expected to be very leaky from the start and ship- to-ship transfers are a common way of disguising the origin of sanctioned oil cargo. Greek tankers have been especially cooperating in transport Russian oil, despite the sanctions, according to report by Institute of International Finance (IIF) that found they had increased their share from 35% of the total shipped Russian oil to 55% now, as bne IntelliNews reported in a piece on leakage via pipelines and tankers.
At present, the Grace Felix is seized and lying at anchor 10km from the coast of Durres. The investigators of the Prosecutor’s Office are continuing to work in order to document this illegal activity and identify the individuals involved. The ship’s cargo will be subject to further examination to determine its origin and whether it is in violation of any sanctions or embargoes.
The jump in oil exports suggests that the oil export business is continuing as normal, although some analysts have argued that the cut in oil production, due to go into effect next week, was forced on the Kremlin, unable to find enough customers to buy all its production.
The high volume of crude being shipped out of Russia's western ports, which now appears to include volumes previously piped to Poland and Germany, according to Bloomberg, has left the country largely on European tankers.
34 RUSSIA Country Report March 2023 www.intellinews.com