North Asia

Sources said that the differential between Russian Urals crude and Brent dated was stable on Wednesday. Kazakhstan also rerouted some oil exports to other destinations than the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which had been attacked by a drone over the weekend. Five industry sources have confirmed that Kazakhstan will divert additional crude oil through the Baku, Tbilisi, and Ceyhan pipelines in December, after the CPC, its main export route suffered damage following a drone attack by Ukraine. According to a source, Kazakh producers could add up to 140,000 tons KEBCO crude oil in December. Ukraine has struck the Druzhba pipeline...

The Turkish maritime authority reported on Tuesday that a Russian-flagged oil tanker, sailing from Russia to Georgia with a cargo of sunflower oil, was attacked near the Turkish coast. However, its 13 crew members escaped unharmed. The vessel MIDVOLGA-2 reported being attacked 80 miles (130km) off the Turkish coastline but did not request assistance. It was heading towards the Sinop port in Turkey, according to the Maritime Affairs Directorate. NTV, a broadcaster in the United States, did not give any additional details but said that the attack was carried out by a kamikaze-style drone. When asked about the latest attack...

The Turkish maritime authority reported on Tuesday that a Russian-flagged oil tanker, sailing from Russia to Georgia with sunflower oil loaded aboard, was attacked near the Turkish coast. However, its 13 crew members were not injured. The Maritime Affairs Directorate reported that the vessel MIDVOLGA-2 had been attacked 80 miles (129 kilometers) off the Turkish coastline, but it did not request assistance. It was heading towards the Sinop port in Turkey. The report did not give any other details. Last Friday, Ukrainian drones targeted two tankers that were sanctioned in the Black Sea, as they approached a Russian port with...

The difference between Brent and Russian Urals crudes was unchanged in quiet trading on Monday, while the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which is responsible for the oil loadings, said that the CPC has resumed oil loads after the drone attack at the weekend. The CPC, a consortium of Russian, Kazakh, and U.S. shareholders said that on Saturday, the attack had caused serious damage to Single-Point Mooring 2 (SPM2) at its Novorossiysk Terminal. SPM 1 has resumed oil loading, while SPM 2 is damaged and SPM 3 is idle for repairs since November 12. According to traders, one SPM is capable...

Data released on Monday showed that the cargo volumes handled by Russia's largest commercial employer, state-owned Russian Railways, continued to decline in November. Russian Railways released a statement saying that November cargo volumes fell by 1.5% on an annual basis to 94.2 millions tonnes. Volumes from January to November also dropped by 5.6%, to 1.021 billion tonnes. The Russian government is examining different options to support Russian Railways. It has accumulated a debt of 4 trillion roubles ($50,8 billion). The railway cargo volume, a key economic indicator of the strength of Russia's export economy, fell to its lowest level in...

VTB CEO Andrei Kostin said in an interview that Russian banks were willing to restructure Russian Railways' debt, as long as their central bank did not increase the reserve requirements on these loans. The Russian government is examining different options to support Russian Railways. This company, which is the largest employer in the country, has accumulated a debt of 4 trillion roubles ($50.8 billion), according to a report on Nov. 25, VTB is the second largest Russian bank and Russian Railways' largest creditor. The bank's top managers participate in weekly government discussions on how to handle the debt. These meetings...

After a drone attack that severely damaged the loading infrastructure and halted oil exports, Kazakhstan asked Ukraine to stop attacking its Black Sea terminal, which is used by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium. This terminal handles more than 1 percent of all global oil. CPC, which has shareholders from Russia, Kazakhstan and the United States, announced that it had stopped operations after an attack by a Ukrainian drone on a mooring in its Russian terminal at the Black Sea caused significant damage. In an effort to undermine the Russian war economy, Ukraine launched a wave of attacks this year on Russia's...

An official of the SBU said that Ukraine had used marine drones to hit two Russian tankers in the Black Sea which were exporting oil and avoiding Western sanctions. An anonymous official confirmed that the SBU, along with the Ukrainian navy, conducted a joint operation against the vessels of the so-called "shadow fleet". Turkish authorities said two shadow fleet tanks were damaged by explosions near Turkey's Bosphorus Strait, causing them to catch fire. Rescue operations for the crews aboard were also launched. SBU officials said that both tankers – identified as the Kairos & Virat – were empty, and they...

Russia did not win enough votes on Friday to rejoin the U.N. Shipping Agency's governing Council despite its appeal to countries to support its nomination to reclaim a seat that it lost in 2023. This is yet another setback for Russia, which failed to gain enough support to be elected to the United Nations Aviation Agency's governing board in September. It was seen as a criticism of Moscow regarding its invasion of Ukraine 2022. The International Maritime Organization, based in London, is responsible for regulating safety and security and preventing pollution. It has 176 members. Moscow is an IMO member...

The Russian Urals crude differentials compared to Brent dated were unchanged on December trading volumes as Western sanctions pressure and price discussions between sellers and purchasers slowed the trading, traders reported. Traders said that market participants were adapting to the new reality of the market after the latest U.S. sanctions and EU sanctions against Russian oil. Three industry sources who have direct knowledge of this matter say that a Western-sanctioned ship with Russian oil bound for Indian Oil Corp had its cargo discharge delayed in a port in east India because of a delay in the online verification of insurance...

The airport operator reported that a passenger plane from Polish carrier LOT veered from a taxiway on the Lithuanian Vilnius airport's Vilnius after arriving from Warsaw, halting traffic. The airport announced on Facebook that all passengers of flight number LO771 had disembarked. There were no injuries reported. A LOT spokesperson posted on the social media platform X that the Embraer 170 was carrying 63 people and four crew. The spokesperson said that "after landing, all passengers safely debarked via mobile stairs. They were then transported to the terminal." Airport officials have announced that the runway will be closed until 5pm...

According to LSEG and two industry sources, Russia's Black Sea Port of Tuapse resumed exports of oil products last week, after a suspension for two weeks due to drone attacks by Ukraine. The local refinery also re-started processing crude oil. According to sources and data from ship tracking, the Gambia flagged tanker Sandhya departed Tuapse with 30,000 metric tonnes of gasoil on November 17, and was heading towards the Suez Canal. On November 18, the Satna, a tanker with the Malawi flag, loaded around 30,000 tonnes of gasoil. The traders claimed that the fuel stored in tanks on these two...

A new agreement, signed on Wednesday amid growing concerns over Russian drone attacks, will see the Polish Army helping to protect transformer stations in Poland by sharing information and conducting joint exercises. According to the agreement, the Polish power grid and army chief of staff will also help the military buy equipment like anti-drone system. However, the agreement did not give any information about the funding for such cooperation. NATO member Poland is a key ally in the fight against Russia invasion of Ukraine. Since 2022 there has been a wave of sabotage, arson and other crimes, culminating with drone...

A source from Ukraine's GUR intelligence service said that Ukraine had hit the Druzhba pipeline in Russia's Tambov central region. Calculations show that this was the fifth Ukrainian attack against the pipeline that supplies Russian oil into Hungary and Slovakia. Hungary and Slovakia are still buying energy from Russia even though other European Union countries have cut off ties with Russia following its invasion in Ukraine in 2022. Ukrainian media reported that remote-controlled explosives had been used in the attack. Slovak and Hungarian oil companies said on Wednesday that oil supply through Druzhba Running As normal. No comments were made...

Peter Szijjarto, Hungary's Foreign Minister, said that the country will appeal a European Union ruling on the phase-out of Russian energy sources before the EU Court of Justice. As part of an effort by the European Union to reduce its decades-long dependence on Russian energy, members have agreed that Russian gas imports will be phased out by 2027. Hungary and Slovakia were against the decision. Slovakia also weighs its legal options in relation to the EU order. Both countries still rely heavily on Russian gas and oil and are afraid that cheaper alternatives could damage their economies. Szijjarto stated during...

Five sources confirmed on Tuesday that the Caspian Pipeline Consortium is aiming to finish repairs on its third SPM-3 single point mooring at its Black Sea Terminal ahead of schedule. The consortium wants to restore its full CPC Blend export capacity following a drone strike which damaged one of their other moorings. Sources familiar with the situation have confirmed that SPM-3 will be back in operation in the next 7 days. The repairs were originally planned to take two months. CPC has halted operations after a drone attack by the Ukrainian navy caused significant damage to its SPM-2 mooring. Sources...

Data from market sources, LSEG and other sources showed that Russia's seaborne gasoil and diesel exports increased 3% from October to 2.37 million metric tonnes in November despite the recent U.S. Sanctions and infrastructure damages caused by drones. The market sources said that exports of ultra low-sulphur fuel via Primorsk - Russia's biggest outlet for diesel shipments - grew 39.3% on a month-to-month basis to 1.221 millions tons, as major producers carried out seasonal and unplanned maintenance. Exports from Russia's south ports, on the other hand, fell dramatically as a result of drone attacks against infrastructure and refineries in the...

A tanker belonging to Russia's shadow navy exploded in the Black Sea, near the Bosphorus Strait in Turkey, on Friday. The explosion caused a fire in its engine room. 25 people were rescued. The Turkish Maritime Affairs Directorate reported that the tanker Kairos was en route from Turkey to Russia's Novorossiysk when it reported an "external impact" causing a 28 nautical mile fire. According to a person who has direct knowledge, a second oil tanker named Virat also suffered an explosion further east, in the Black Sea. According to LSEG, both Kairos and Virat appear on a list containing ships...

German federal prosecutors confirmed that a Ukrainian man suspected of coordinating sabotage against the Nord Stream Gas pipeline in 2022, who was handed over by Italy's highest court last week after it had approved his transfer, arrived in Germany on Friday. The explosions in the Baltic Sea that destroyed the pipeline three years ago, severely reduced the Russian gas transit into Europe and squeezed energy supplies on the continental although Russia had already stopped delivering. Both Russia and Western nations have said that the incident was an attack of sabotage. Investigators spent many years trying to solve the mystery. SUSPECT...

The Russian central bank stated on Thursday that the G7 was trying to use billions in frozen Russian assets to increase their reserves. Gold is on track to have its largest annual rise since 1979. It has risen 59% this year, after reaching a record-high of $4,381 per troy ounce in October, on the back of safe-haven demands driven by geopolitical turmoil and U.S. Tariff uncertainty. According to the central bank, investor interest in gold is increasing due to global uncertainty. The central bank stated that "at the same time the precious metal receives additional support due to the steady...

The German Federal Prosecutor said that a Ukrainian man suspected to have coordinated the sabotage in 2022 of the Nord Stream Gas Pipeline will be flown into Germany on Thursday, after Italy's highest court approved his expulsion last week. The explosions that occurred in the Baltic Sea, three years ago, were described by both Moscow, and the West, as acts of sabotage. They essentially cut off Russian gas supplies to Europe. The investigation took years to solve the mystery. SUSPECT DENIES ROLE IN ATTACKS The suspect, who is identified by German privacy laws as Serhii k., denies playing any part...

The Caspian Pipeline Consortium said that it has temporarily halted oil loadings on its Russian Black Sea Terminal near Novorossiysk because of an overnight Ukrainian drone strike which damaged the office. It didn't provide any further details and referred to its previous statements regarding its operations, which are usually resumed once the air raid warnings have been cancelled. CPC's business operations were largely unaffected, according to a source in the industry. CPC is Kazakhstan's main export route to the global market, with the majority of volumes going to Europe and Asia. Russia contributes smaller volumes to CPC. CPC is owned...

Alexander Novak, deputy prime minister of Russia in Beijing on Tuesday, said that Russia is looking to increase oil exports to China as well as to enhance cooperation with regards to the supply of liquefied gas. Since the beginning of Russia's military operation in Ukraine, in February 2022, China and India are the two largest buyers of Russian crude oil. China imports approximately 1.4 million barrels per day of Russian crude oil via sea, and about 900,000. bpd by pipeline. The United States introduced sanctions last month against Russia's largest oil producers Rosneft, and Lukoil. Russian President Vladimir Putin denounced...

Alexander Novak, the Russian deputy prime minister, said that Moscow and Beijing had been discussing ways of expanding Russian oil exports into China. Since the beginning of Russia's military operation in Ukraine, in February 2022, China and India are the two largest buyers of Russian crude oil. China imports approximately 1.4 million barrels per day of Russian crude oil via sea, and about 900,000. bpd by pipeline. The United States introduced sanctions last month against Russia's largest oil producers Rosneft, and Lukoil. Russian President Vladimir Putin denounced the sanctions, calling them unfriendly and saying that they wouldn't have a significant...