April 3 (Reuters) – Russia’s Baltic oil export hubs at Ust-Luga and Primorsk remain unable to handle shipments after a series of Ukrainian drone attacks, prompting the country’s refineries to find alternative routes for export, industry sources said on Friday.
The attacks have damaged port infrastructure and continued through the last two weeks of March, with at least five strikes on Ust-Luga in the space of 10 days.
Sources said the export restrictions, along with disruptions at large refineries, could lead to a decrease in oil production in Russia.
Traders said refineries have been unable to deliver diesel fuel to Primorsk for export since March 22, leaving refineries in European Russia and Siberia without their most viable export route.
“Diesel fuel has not been accepted in Primorsk since Sunday (March 22),” said one industry source. “They have promised to resume accepting delivers to the system.”
Traders said refineries were having to consider more expensive rail transport routes to other export terminals.
Refineries normally sending deliveries to Ust-Luga have for the past week and half considered sending their shipments of fuel oil to Vysotsk, further north on the Gulf of Finland or to Taman on the Black Sea coast.
But traders say Vysotsk has a smaller handling capacity and shipping to Taman would require ensuring larger numbers of rail cars.
Finnish maritime officials told Reuters this week that shipments from Primorsk and Ust-Luga were sharply down to “individual vessels” instead of a weekly average of 40 to 50.
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Mark Porter)
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