Two key Russian oil export facilities along the Baltic Sea coast have been shut down for shipment operations for the second consecutive week following a series of Ukrainian drone strikes, according to industry sources who spoke Friday.
The Ust-Luga and Primorsk terminals have suffered infrastructure damage from ongoing attacks that intensified during the final two weeks of March, with Ust-Luga hit by at least five separate drone strikes within a 10-day period.
Industry insiders indicate that the export bottlenecks, combined with operational problems at major refineries, may result in reduced Russian oil production levels.
According to traders, refineries have been blocked from shipping diesel fuel through Primorsk since March 22, cutting off the primary export pathway for facilities across European Russia and Siberia.
One industry source explained the situation: “Diesel fuel has not been accepted in Primorsk since Sunday (March 22). They have promised to resume accepting delivers to the system.”
The shipping disruptions are forcing refineries to explore costlier rail transportation options to reach other export points, traders report.
Facilities that typically route fuel oil shipments through Ust-Luga have spent the past week and a half exploring alternatives, including the Vysotsk terminal located further north along the Gulf of Finland, or the Taman facility on the Black Sea coastline.
However, traders note that Vysotsk has limited processing capabilities, while shipping to Taman would require securing significantly more railway cars for transport.
Finnish maritime authorities confirmed to Reuters this week that vessel traffic from both Primorsk and Ust-Luga has dropped dramatically to just “individual vessels” compared to the typical weekly average of 40 to 50 ships.
