Novak Instructs Russian Refiners to Ensure Uninterrupted Supplies

Russian refines have been instructed to ensure “uninterrupted” flows of petroleum products, as well as crude supplies to refineries, in line with schedules and to meet growing seasonal demand after Thursdays meet with Deputy PM Alexander Novak.

• It comes as the market watches Russia’s response to both domestic and international fuel markets following drone strikes on its refining infrastructure by Ukraine in recent weeks. These meetings have resulted in export bans in the past to ensure supply priority for the domestic market.
• Bloomberg reported earlier Friday that Russia may be able to use ‘slack’ within its refining system to mitigate against the reduced processing rates.
• “The impact on the refinery runs may not be as pronounced, thanks to additional utilization of the currently operating primary units,” according to Bloomberg reports citing Sergey Kondratiev, head of the economic department at Moscow-based Institute for Energy and Finance Foundation.
• Meanwhile, Kpler figures indicate a significant build up of Russian diesel at sea indicating a well-supplied market. An average of 6.2 million barrels of diesel had been floating in the 10 days to March 17, according to data from Kpler - the highest the measure’s been since at least 2017.