Freight rates for shipping Russia's flagship Urals crude from its western ports to India weakened in April, giving exporters up to an extra $8 a barrel, according to source data and Reuters calculations.
A surge in energy prices triggered by the Iran war has pushed oil benchmarks above $100 a barrel for much of the past month, and Urals is trading at a premium to the North Sea benchmark in its key Indian market.
A spike in freight rates last month raised exporters' costs and limited the upside from higher crude prices. Rates eased in April, however, as ice conditions improved at Russia's Baltic ports and tanker availability rose on the global market following the halt of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
The drop in transport costs for Urals cargoes shipped to India late in April and in May could average between $3 and $8 a barrel, depending on the loading port and the size of the cargo, traders' data and Reuters calculations showed.
Supplies from Russia's western ports - and therefore revenues - are at risk of Ukrainian drone attacks, however. Russia increased exports in early April from March levels, but the ports of Novorossiisk and Ust-Luga are still operating well below full capacity.
Freight costs for Urals cargoes shipped from the Baltic ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga to India currently stand at about $16 million for Aframax tankers carrying 100,000 tonnes, compared with roughly $20 million to $23 million per one-way voyage in March, sources said.
Transport costs for Urals shipments from the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk to India on Suezmax tankers carrying around 140,000 tonnes have also eased, to about $19 million per voyage, from roughly $20 million to $21 million last month.
Urals shipments are currently handled mainly by "shadow-fleet" tankers that try to avoid Western restrictions, as Greek shipowners remain cautious about working with Russia due to sanctions.
(Editing by Mark Potter)
