Russia cuts oil exports from western ports by 19pc in Feb/Jan

MOSCOW: Russia plans to cut oil exports and transit from its western ports, Primorsk, Ust-Luga and Novorossiisk, to 4.63 million tonnes in February from 6.32 million tonnes planned for loading in January, a preliminary schedule showed on Monday.

On a daily basis oil loadings will decline by 19% in February from January plan, Reuters calculations showed.

Urals oil exports from Baltic ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga will decease to 3.4 million tonnes in February from 4.8 million tonnes in the revised January loading plan. According to preliminary January loading plan, Urals exports from Baltic ports were planned at 5 million tonnes.

Urals loadings from Primorsk are set at 2.2 million tonnes for February and exports from Ust-Luga are set at 1.2 million tonnes, according to the schedule.

Urals and Siberian Light exports from the Black Sea's Novorossiisk are planned at 1.23 million tonnes for February, down on 1.52 million tonnes in the January plan, according to the document.

Oil exports are set to decline amid a sharp cut in major oil company Rosneft's export plans for next month. The company's Urals oil loadings from Baltic ports are planned at just 600,000 tonnes compared to 1.5 million tonnes in January, according to the document.

Rosneft plans to load 0.3 million tonnes of Urals from the Black Sea's Novorossiisk, unchanged from its January loading plan.

Rosneft's decision to cut oil loadings next month was a surprise, traders said, as Russian oil companies are generally expected to increase exports amid an easing of OPEC+ cuts.

Two sources said Rosneft considered lowering output for the next month, but the reason for it was not clear, they added.

Rosneft did not reply to a Reuters request for comment.

Urals oil differentials to dated Brent have already firmed amid lower exports expectations last week as the move was not expected by the market.

"It is rather unexpected. We planned Urals availability flat to higher with January plan, but now we have to look for alternatives immediately," a source with a European refiner that buys Urals said.

A trader in the Mediterranean market said that lower availability of Urals may support values of such grades as Kazakh CPC Blend.