Northwest European Russian Crude Imports Shrink

There are only two weeks until the EU ban on Russian oil comes into effect December 5.

• Russia shipped just 95,000 bpd to Rotterdam — its only remaining European destination for seaborne deliveries outside the Mediterranean/Black Sea basin — in the four weeks to Nov. 18 according to Bloomberg vessel tracking.
• That’s down from over 1.2mn bpd to the region’s ports in February.
• Three quarters of the crude now loaded at Baltic Ports is headed to Asia.
• There is a UK and US grace period on cargoes that are loaded before December 5, as long as they are delivered by January 19. It is expected the EU will adopt this stance too.
• The upcoming announcement on the Russian oil price cap could come out as early as Wednesday.