Turkey tops destination for Russia’s diesel exports in June

Reuter/Essam Al-Sudani

Turkey will again be the top destination for Russian diesel exports in June, while total shipments are set to rise after seasonal refinery maintenance, traders said and Refinitiv Eikon data showed.

Russia’s estimated offline primary oil refining capacity for June could total 4.029 million tonnes versus 4.95 million tonnes in May, Refinitiv data shows.

Since the full European Union (EU) embargo on Russian oil products took effect on February 5, traders have diverted diesel export supplies from Russian ports to Africa, Asia and the Middle East instead of Europe, which was previously the main buyer.

In June to date, Russia has sent about 0.9 million tonnes of diesel to Turkey versus one million tonnes the previous month, Refinitiv data shows.

About 320,000 tonnes of that are still in transit with the port of discharge not yet confirmed.

Brazil is also among the top destinations of Russian seaborne diesel exports, totalling about 280,000 tonnes since the start of this month versus 450,000 tonnes in May, according to Revinitiv data.

In June to date, about 550,000 tonnes of diesel have headed from the Russian ports to Africa, mainly to Ghana, Morocco and Togo.

In May, diesel loadings from Russian ports to Africa totalled about 575,000 tonnes, Reuters calculations based on Refinitiv data showed.

Nearly 375,000 tonnes of Russian diesel are destined in June for ship-to-ship loadings near the Greek port of Kalamata and also near Malta, Refinitiv data shows. The final destinations for these cargoes are not yet known. Most of those cargoes end up in Turkey and Middle Eastern countries, market sources said.

In May Russia sent about 410,000 tonnes of diesel to Saudi Arabia, but so far in June there is no sign of cargoes to this destination, Refinitiv data indicated.

All the shipping data above was by cargo departure.