North Asia

The Russian crude oil exports were higher than expected in early June as drone attacks on refineries released a large amount of extra volumes for shipping, according to trade sources and port sources. Russia planned to reduce its crude oil exports to cover fuel shortages and boost refinery runs in June, but was unable to do so because Ukraine intensified its drone campaign, which targeted major?facilities such as the TANECO complex and the Moscow refining facility. According to three sources who are familiar with port operations, the average daily loadings of Primorsk, Ust-Luga and Novorossiysk on the Black Sea and...

Two trade sources reported that freight rates for tanker shipments of Urals crude oil from Russia's western port 'to India' eased in June compared to last month due to seasonal factors, increased 'availability' of vessels and shippers' optimistic view of the opening of Strait of Hormuz. Two trade sources said that the United States and Iran reached a deal on a peace agreement, which would end the?war? in Iran and allow free passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Sources said that the blockade caused a dramatic increase in freight rates around the world, including on the Russian oil shipping markets....

According to industry sources, Russia's seaborne product exports dropped by 0.2% daily in May compared to April. This equates to a drop of?8.016 millions metric tons. While the 'continued Ukrainian drone attacks on key ports and major refineries led to a sharp decline in oil product loadings at Russia's southern port, this was offset by an increase in fuel exports from Baltic terminals. Kyiv intensified its attacks on Russian energy installations in the last few months as peace talks to end Ukraine's conflict failed to progress. In May, drones targeted a number of Russia's largest refineries, including Lukoil's NORSI refinery...

Saudi Arabia and its neighbours in the Gulf will celebrate the eventual reopening of Strait of Hormuz. But the ensuing oil flood could erode OPEC’s fragile grip on the markets. The Iran War and the closing of the vital waterway, through which nearly one fifth of world oil and gas passed before the conflict, have dramatically reduced the output of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and shifted the industry's center of gravity away. Riyadh has limited options to counter these changes. The strait is not expected to reopen anytime soon, and it's unclear what the conditions will be. Iran...

The Ukrainian Ports Authority reported on Wednesday that two vessels flying the Panamanian and Barbadian flags had been damaged by an attack while they were moving along Ukraine's Black Sea navigation corridor. According to the authority's Telegram post, one vessel is headed towards the port of Odesa - a vital port for Ukrainian exports - with a cargo?of metal while the other was carrying grain and had already left the port. Both vessels were operating in the navigation corridor set up by Ukrainian authorities to allow ships travel from the 'Black Sea' to Romanian ports along the 'Danube River. Oleh...

Kyiv announced?on? Wednesday that Ukrainian forces had struck "several" key facilities in the Russian-occupied port of Mariupol. This attack has "significantly reduced" its ability to be a vital logistics hub for Moscow’s war effort. According to Ukraine's Drone Forces, the port had no power after strikes on its energy management and infrastructure. They said that they had "carried out" the operation in conjunction with the 1st Azov Corps, and the SBU security service. The statement said that the port had been 'used by the enemy for military logistic, as well illegal exports of Ukrainian grain and coal to Russia. "The...

UAC, Ukraine's biggest farmers' union, said that Russian attacks on Ukraine’s Black Sea ports had already caused "serious" damage to the export terminals and threatened a significant?reduction in shipments. This includes key agricultural exports. The hub of Odesa is the main port for exports of Ukraine, including iron ore. In recent months, Russia increased its attacks on port infrastructure. It has targeted?grain termini as well as storage and export facilities for sunflower oil. Ukraine's agricultural products are dominated by grain?and vegetable oils. "The situation in ports around Odesa has reached a critical level." UAC stated that systematic Russian shelling was...

The Ukrainian steelmakers union UkrMetalurgProm warned on Tuesday that a proposed freight tariff hike by the'state railway' of Ukraine could lead to a reduction in GDP, permanent closure of certain facilities, and the loss of 300,000 jobs. Oleksandr P.rtsovskyi, CEO of Ukrzaliznytsia, said earlier in the month that his company intended to increase freight rates by at least 45 percent. The increase would reduce losses and help restructure the company's significant debt. Oleksandr Kalenko, president of the union, wrote a letter commenting on Ukrzaliznytsia’s statements. He said that Ukraine’s steel industry had suffered losses totaling 28?billion Hryvnias (about $632 million),...

The defence ministry reported that a marine drone of the type used during the war in Ukraine, a neighbouring country, self-detonated in Romania's Black Sea port of Constanta, near an oil terminal. No casualties were caused, according to the ministry. Raed Arafat, the deputy interior minister, said that two helicopters were scouring the area to look for drones. "We now know that there is a risk of self-detonation. We have... evacuated in case there are other drones," said Arafat. "We're not panicking, these measures are only preventative." Two people were injured by the explosion, which occurred a week after the...

Two industry sources reported on Monday that the Volgograd oil refinery, owned by Lukoil, in Russia's south, had suspended oil processing after a sabotage attack from Ukraine, which resulted in fires and damage. Peace talks to end the Ukraine war have stagnated. Last week, the local governor reported that at least two people were injured and one killed in an 'Ukrainian drone strike' on the Volgograd area. Sources claim that the crude distillation unit CDU-1 was shut down. This unit accounts for 40% capacity of the plant. CDU-6 and CDU-5 were also shut down. Lukoil has not responded to our...

Saudi Arabian state oil producer Saudi Aramco raised its official selling price for liquefied gas by 1% to 3% between June and July, while Algerian Sonatrach cut it from 18% to 31% because of a higher supply on the Mediterranean market. Saudi Aramco increased its June OSPs by $10 per metric ton, to $760 for propane And?by $20 per ton up to $820 for butane . LPG comes in two types: Propane and Butane. They have different boiling points. LPG is used primarily as fuel for cars and heating, as well as as a feedstock for other chemicals. Sonatrach has...

The Ukrainian military said that it had attacked the Sheskharis Oil Terminal in Russia, one of the largest on the Black Sea. It also struck the nearby Grushova oil depot. On Telegram, the Ukraine General Staff reported that the overnight attack caused a fire to break out at the Sheskharis Terminal. The general staff of Ukraine also reported that a tanker called Chrysalis had been hit in the Black Sea. In recent months, Ukraine has increased its number and size of strikes on Russian oil refineries and transportation facilities, in an effort to reduce Russia's revenue from oil and natural...

Middle East oil producers will have to face the consequences. The Iran War exposed the dangers in relying solely on one chokepoint to export vital oil and gas. Gulf governments were left with a clear strategy imperative: diversify at all costs. A blockade by Iran of the Strait of Hormuz was long viewed as an "event of doomsday". It would never occur. Experts believed it would take a massive effort from the military and that Tehran wouldn't be willing to stop its exports. These assumptions were 'proven painfully incorrect. Iran used cheap drones and small vessels to impose a nearly...

Two industry sources confirmed that a Moscow oil refinery stopped operations on Tuesday after a?Ukrainian drone attack. Sources said that the strike was claimed by Ukraine and caused a fire at the primary refinery CDU-6, which can process 21,400 metric tonnes of oil per day. This is 53% of its capacity. Sources who requested anonymity as they were not authorised to speak in public said that the refinery is expected to resume its operations at its second primary unit soon. This unit can process 18,800 tons per day. The local?emergency service said earlier on Tuesday that the fire at the...

Two industry sources have confirmed that the TANECO oil'refinery in Russia has suspended all crude 'processing after a drone attack on June 12th. Sources said that the fires and strike at the refinery led to the closure of both primary processing units: CDU-6 with a capacity?of 20,000 tonnes per day, or 45% of the total capacity?of the refinery,?and CDU-7 which?processes more than 23,000 tons each day. Tatneft did not reply to our request for a comment. TANECO is one of Russia's technologically most advanced refineries. It has?hydrocracking and catalytic cracking units, as well as delayed?coking?units. According to data from the...

The DiXi Group, a think tank, predicts that Ukraine's energy system, which has been under constant Russian assault, will face power shortages in the summer months, and consumers may be affected by outages, despite the strong output of solar power plants and the imports. Russia has been attacking Ukraine's energy generation and transmission system throughout the war. This has caused severe damage to thermal power plants, forcing Kyiv to import more and to resort to massive power cuts for consumers. DiXi stated in a press release that, under moderate temperatures and with no further damage done to the energy grid,...

TASS reported?on?Tuesday, citing the regional ministry of emergency, that three?explosions?hit a gas pipe in 'the town 'of 'Kizilyurt, in Russia’s Dagestan Region in the North Caucasus. However, emergency crews managed to control the resulting blaze. Three explosions were reported by the?ministry on a trunk 1,200 mm gas pipeline. No injuries have been reported. TASS?quoted?officials in the?region who said that emergency crews brought under control flames which had risen 15 metres (50 feet). It said that grassy areas were burning near the explosion site. Russian news agencies reported that residents who were ordered to evacuate from 300 homes are now returning....

Three trading sources have confirmed that the Caspian Pipeline Consortium plans to export 1.7 million barrels of CPC Blend crude per day in June, compared with an initial estimate of 1.45 million barrels. They said that maintenance at Kazakhstan's Kashagan field was postponed, and production at Tengiz, the country's oilfield, has been restored following a technical problem in May, which resulted in the higher forecast. The initial June plan was revised upwards by 17%. According to calculations, the?May?loading plan was expected to reach a multi-month peak. Calculations show that the May loading plan would reach a multi-month high of 1.8...

Market sources say that Russia will reduce its crude exports in June as it plans to increase refinery runs amid looming fuel shortages. According to preliminary information from industry and trading sources, crude loadings at the western?ports Primorsk (Ust-Luga) and Novorossiysk (Novorossiysk) could drop to 1.7 million barrels per day in June, down from 2.5 millions bpd. Sources said that the decline could be partially due to a decrease in oil production levels. Alexander Novak, the Deputy Prime Minister, said that the Russian oil production had fallen since the beginning of the year. He blamed the drop on unplanned maintenance...

On Thursday, President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia is ready to resume supplies of gas to 'Germany through the 'Nord Stream Pipeline which was heavily damaged by underwater explosions. Putin told reporters in St. Petersburg one of two lines of Nord Stream 2 was intact and could begin pumping gas "tomorrow." "I am not joking, just press the?button to start the gas flowing." "But for that, the German government must make a decision," he said. Putin did say that Nord Stream is under U.S. Sanctions and Germany would need to come up with an agreement in order to remove them....

A senior member from Germany's far right Alternative for 'Germany (AfD), met with one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s top advisors, as well as the director of energy 'group Gazprom. He called for a reopening the Nord Stream Gas Pipeline. Markus Frohnmaier, the AfD's spokesperson for foreign policy, attends Putin's economic showpiece in St Petersburg despite warnings by Germany's Foreign Ministry, which stated that it "explicitly warned the AfD about these trips". Frohnmaier posted on social media that he met with Alexei Miller, CEO of Gazprom, and Kirill Dimitriev, Putin’s special envoy to invest and cooperate in the economy, on...

Three industry sources said that in May, Russia's oil exports via the Druzhba pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia were restored to normal levels at 165,000?barrels?per day. After a long outage, Slovakia and Hungary began receiving crude oil through the pipeline on April 23, following a month-long interruption. The first month following the resumption of the oil route is May. Sources said that Hungary and Slovakia only received 55,000 bpd during April when the route was operational for just a week. Although the flow of oil through the pipeline is now "unrestricted", May deliveries were lower than the levels seen before...

On Wednesday, the?body overseeing Bosnia’s peace process will meet to select a new envoy. Schmidt, appointed in 2021, resigned?unexpectedly?in May from the Office of High Representative. This office monitors implementation of U.S.-backed Dayton peace accords that ended Bosnia’s war in 1995. Schmidt, who was appointed to the Office of the high Representative in 2021 and resigned unexpectedly in May, said he quit under "enormous" U.S. pressure. It is a difficult time for Bosnia as it remains deeply divided on ethnic lines. Washington has been a strong supporter of the country, but in its May report on Western Balkans, the U.S....

Caleb Orr, Assistant Secretary of State for the United States, said that a U.S.-Azerbaijan delegation signed 'commercial agreements' worth more than $8 billion and Washington will invest in Azerbaijan's energy sector. Orr said that the United States wanted to play a bigger role in Azerbaijan’s energy infrastructure projects. Orr responded to a query by saying, "We plan concrete investments in the?energy?sector." He said ExxonMobil was still an important partner for Azerbaijan, after signing a Memorandum of Understanding on new exploration possibilities at the Baku Energy Week?last year. Washington also supports Chevron's new exploration agreement signed during this year’s event. Orr...