Russia exported nearly 3.94 million barrels of Crude Oil per day last week, marking a 20% increase from the prior week despite US sanctions. A record volume of Russian Crude now sits in tankers at sea, raising questions about demand even as production bottlenecks push exports higher, Commerzbank's commodity analyst Carsten Fritsch notes.

Russian seaborne Oil exports spike to highest since September

"Russia exported significantly more Crude Oil by sea last week than in previous weeks. According to Bloomberg data based on tanker data, seaborne shipments rose to 3.94 million barrels per day in the week ending November 30. That was a good 20% more than in the previous week and the highest level since early September. The less volatile 4-week average also rose to 3.46 million barrels per day."

"The increase in exports can be explained by the fact that, due to the ongoing Ukrainian drone attacks on Oil refineries in Russia, less Crude Oil can be processed and therefore more is available for export. The increase in Oil exports comes as a surprise, as US sanctions against Russia's two largest Oil companies came into effect just before the reporting week."

"However, the increase in exports does not automatically mean that there are buyers for the Oil. According to Bloomberg, more than 180 million barrels of Russian Oil were in tankers at sea at the end of November, representing a 21% increase within three months. Some of the ships are likely to be sailing without a specific destination, looking for a buyer."