- Cargoes bound for Asia have fallen by more than 15% from May highs, as Russian flows edge lower.
- Russian shipments to Asian countries aside from China and India are drying up, per Bloomberg.
- Russian oil production is witnessing a decline as EU sanctions curtail demand.
Russia's seaborne crude exports bound for Asia are dropping in a sign that the country's energy supplies are waning, Bloomberg reports.
As most countries moved to sanction Russian energy over its war with Ukraine, Asia instead, decided to snap up discounted Russian oil in which India and China now make up for about 50% of the country's seaborne oil exports.
Russian crude oil is priced at much cheaper prices to other grades on the spot market due to sanctions and boycotts, but energy prices have skyrocketed this year, boosting sales for the country. According to a Bloomberg Economics report, sales of Russian oil and gas are forecasted to rise to $285 billion in 2022 which is a 20% increase than the country's 2021 takings.
But as the country brings in huge profits, Russian flows of seaborne crude exports have fallen more than 15% on a weekly and four-week average basis from the highs it witnessed in May, per Bloomberg. During that month, Russia's oil export revenues jumped 11% to reach $20 billion.
On average, Russia's crude shipments in the four weeks leading up to July 1 hit 3.46 million barrels a day, down from a peak of 3.75 million barrels a day it reached in the four weeks leading up to April 29.
Shipments to Asian countries other than China and India have essentially dried up, the outlet reported, with just the odd cargo heading to Japan and South Korea, reflecting a broad decline in demand. The region accounts for about 52% of Russia's total seaborne exports, down from a high of 63% in the four weeks to mid-April.
Russia has already lost much of the European market for its seaborne crude after Brussels announced last month that it would cut imports of Russian oil by 90% by the end of 2022. The US Energy Information Administration said Russia's oil output could slide 18% by the end of next year.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) have even considered removing Russia from an oil-production agreement after the country missed its output target. An OPEC official told the Wall Street Journal that it made little sense for Russia to have to stick to quotas that it could not meet.