Russia’s oil export revenues last month fell to the lowest level since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Bloomberg reports.
This was influenced both by Western sanctions, which limited sales and forced the aggressor country to offer large discounts on oil, and by effective Ukrainian strikes on russia’s oil infrastructure.
The agency notes that last month russia earned 9.5 billion dollars from the export of crude oil and petroleum products. This is 1.5 billion dollars less than in January.
The total volume of oil exports fell by 850 thousand barrels per day — to 6.6 million barrels, which is also the lowest level since the beginning of russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The decline last month occurred after the introduction of even larger discounts on russian oil. The United States increased pressure on the aggressor country, which made it more difficult to sell its oil on global markets.
Ukrainian strikes on russia’s oil infrastructure and fuel plants reduced refining volumes by about 300 thousand barrels per day — to 5.1 million barrels per day in February. In addition, this also contributed to a reduction in crude oil exports.
As a result, daily crude oil production in russia decreased by 710 thousand barrels — to 8.55 million barrels per day. Earlier this week, russian production in February was estimated at 9.184 million barrels per day.
At the same time, Bloomberg notes that the war in the Middle East may lead to an increase in demand for russia’s oil, as several countries in the region are reducing their own production.