MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia’s transport ministry said on Wednesday that weather conditions in the Black Sea remained unfavourable for shipping and that restrictions at Russian seaports would remain in place until the weather improved, disrupting oil exports.
A severe storm in the Black Sea region has disrupted up to 2 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil exports from Kazakhstan and Russia, according to state officials and port agent data.
The export disruption has propped up global oil prices as investors turn cautious ahead of a crucial OPEC+ meeting to decide output policy in the coming months. [O/R]
Navigation is restricted around Russia’s Black Sea ports in the southern Krasnodar region due to a major storm that blew up earlier this week, the ministry of transport said on Tuesday.
“The merchant fleet remains offshore and on the high seas until the storm is over,” it said in a statement.
Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which accounts for around 80% of oil from Kazakhstan and exports it via a Black Sea terminal, said there were still waves up to 7.5 metres high.
Earlier on Wednesday, Kazakhstan’s energy ministry said that daily oil output at Kazakhstan’s giant Kashagan field dropped 38% to 33,000 metric tons on Tuesday due to the Black Sea storm.
The Black Sea region has been hit by heavy storms since Friday that have disrupted logistics and oil exports, and damaged homes and infrastructure.
(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Andrew Osborn and Christina Fincher)
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