Russia's seaborne diesel and gasoil exports dropped 20 per cent in September from August to about 2.4 million tonnes, as unplanned refinery outages triggered by Ukrainian drone strikes curbed production, data from market sources and LSEG showed.
Several major refineries were hit by drones in August and September, including Surgutneftegaz's Kirishinefteorgsintez refinery, Lukoil's Volgograd refinery and Rosneft's Samara group of refineries.
The Russian Baltic port of Primorsk also suspended loadings in September following a drone attack.
These disruptions led to a decrease in diesel exports, market sources said.
Amid fuel shortages in the domestic market, Russia has imposed a partial ban on diesel exports, including marine fuel and other gas oils, though traders do not expect a significant impact, noting that Russia already has a prohibitive export tariff for non-producers of diesel.
In September, diesel exports via Primorsk, Russia's biggest outlet for exports of ultra-low sulphur diesel (ULSD), fell 30 per cent month-on-month to 0.93 million tonnes, data from market sources and Reuters calculations showed.
Diesel and gasoil loadings from the Black Sea ports of Novorossiisk and Tuapse fell by 12 per cent and 17.5 per cent respectively, to 0.683 million tonnes and 0.36 million tonnes.
Turkey remained the top buyer of Russian diesel and gasoil in September, with imports down three per cent to 1.08 million tonnes.
Diesel shipments from Russian ports to Brazil saw a sharp decline, falling 44 per cent to 190,000 tonnes, shipping data showed.
Several tankers with diesel departing Russian ports have yet to declare their destination, according to LSEG data.
(Reporting by Reuters in Moscow; Editing by Mark Potter)
