Russian crude exports and transit volumes set to fall as producers curb output

MOSCOW: Russia's crude oil exports and transit volumes from Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are set to fall to 61.7 million tonnes in the first quarter of 2019 from 63.8 million in the final quarter of this year, a quarterly schedule issued by the Energy Ministry seen by Reuters showed.

OPEC and non-OPEC oil producing nations have agreed to cut output by 1.2 million barrels per day beginning in January to help clear inventories and support prices.

On a daily basis, January-March exports will fall by 1.1 percent compared to the October-December quarter, Reuters calculations show.

Crude oil export schedules from Russia include transit volumes of oil from Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.

Exports and transit of Urals crude oil via Russia's Baltic ports are set at 18.9 million tonnes compared to 19 million tonnes for the last quarter of 2018, the schedule showed.

January-March Urals crude oil exports from the port of Primorsk have been set at 10 million tonnes. Exports from the port of Ust-Luga have been set at 8.86 million tonnes including 2.5 million tonnes of transit crude from Kazakhstan.

Urals and Siberian Light crude oil exports and transit from the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk are seen at 8.6 million tonnes in January-March, down from 8.8 million tonnes in October-December 2018, the schedule showed.

That includes 1.5 million tonnes of Kazakh transit crude and 325,000 tonnes of Azeri transit crude.

Russia's ESPO Blend crude oil exports via the Far East port of Kozmino are set at 7.5 million tonnes for the first quarter of 2019.

Russia's ESPO Blend crude oil exports to China via the Skovorodino-Mohe pipeline are set at 7.4 million tonnes for January-March 2019.

Russia will supply China with 30 million tonnes of ESPO Blend via the route, according to a Russian-Chinese state agreement.

Russia's crude oil supplies to China via Kazakhstan through the Atasu-Alashankou pipeline have been set at 2.5 million tonnes for the next quarter. Russia supplies 10 million tonnes per year to China via the route under a bilateral state agreement.