Russia's crude oil shipments jumped in the four weeks to December 10, after storms in the Black Sea that had disrupted loadings in November subsided, tanker-tracking data monitored by Bloomberg showed on Tuesday.
Russia's crude oil shipments from all its ports averaged 3.2 million barrels per day (bpd) in the four weeks to December 10, up by around 114,000 bpd compared to the four-week average to December 3, according to the data reported by Bloomberg's Julian Lee.
Weekly shipments, which are much more volatile and not representative of average monthly exports, jumped to the highest level since the start of July with uninterrupted loadings at the Black Sea port in Russia in the week to December 10, the data showed.
At the end of November, oil exports from Russia's ports on the Black Sea were disrupted as shipping was restricted due to storms in the region.
Russia has pledged to reduce its oil exports by 300,000 bpd until the end of 2023, in a show of solidarity with its OPEC+ partner Saudi Arabia, which is voluntarily reducing its oil production by 1 million bpd until 2023.
At the latest OPEC+ meeting, Russia said it would deepen the export cut to 500,000 bpd in the first quarter of 2024, with May and June of 2023 being the reference export levels for the cut, which will consist of 300,000 bpd of crude and 200,000 bpd of refined products.
Earlier this month, reports emerged that Russia has promised oil-flow tracking companies and price reporting agencies to provide data about its production, inventories, and fuel output after OPEC+ asked Moscow for more transparency in tracking its compliance with the cuts.
Since the invasion of Ukraine, Russia has classified its oil production and export data, saying it would not provide detailed information about its oil sector which could be used by the West to track down and clamp down on Russia's oil exports, or oil revenues.
Russia has always been evasive about its compliance with the OPEC+ agreement, even before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
Charles is a writer for Oilprice.com More