Russia's seaborne diesel and gasoil exports plunged in June, collapsing by 39 per cent from the previous month to around 1.8 million tonnes and falling 46 per cent from 3.35 million tonnes in the same month a year ago, as waves of drone attacks forced unplanned shutdowns at key domestic refineries, data from market sources and LSEG showed.
Ultra-low-sulphur diesel shipments from Primorsk, Russia's biggest outlet for diesel exports, slumped by more than half compared with May to just 623,000 tonnes, based on traders' estimates and Reuters calculations.
Russian authorities have not taken a decision yet on banning diesel exports, but traders suggest exports of ULSD could decline to minimal levels or "almost nothing" in July amid prolonged unplanned maintenance on some major refineries and strong domestic demand.
The sharp decline follows a series of drone strikes in May and June targeting major refining facilities, including Lukoil-owned Volgograd, Gazpromneft's Moscow refinery, Rosneft's Ryazan refinery and Surgutneftegaz-owned Kirishi refinery, one of Russia's biggest diesel producers. Besides, the private Tyumen refinery stopped after facing an accidental fire.
The disruption has rippled through the domestic market. With output shrinking just as seasonal demand surged, supplies tightened sharply, triggering restrictions on fuel sales across multiple regions in Russia.
In June, Turkey and Brazil remained the dominant buyers, together absorbing at least half of the available cargoes, shipping data showed.
Tankers carrying a combined 250,000 tonnes of diesel from the Russian ports are heading to anchorages near Port Said in Egypt and Limassol in Cyprus for ship-to-ship transfers. The final destinations of these cargoes are unclear yet.
Still, tankers carrying a combined 100,000 tonnes of diesel have yet to declare their discharge ports, according to LSEG data.
Beyond the main buyers, Morocco, Egypt and Senegal also emerged as major importers of Russian diesel cargoes in June, shipping data showed.
(Reporting by Reuters in Moscow Editing by Louise Heavens)