Russia's oil pipeline monopoly Transneft will try to redirect oil exports from the Baltic Sea ports, damaged by drone attacks, Interfax news agency reported on Thursday, citing the head of the company.
According to Reuters calculations based on market data, at least 40% of Russia's oil export capacity is at a halt following Ukrainian drone attacks, a disputed attack on a major pipeline and the seizure of tankers.
Ukrainian drones attacked this week the Baltic Sea ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga, major hubs for Russian oil exports, forcing them to suspend loadings, industry sources told Reuters.
"Redirecting such volumes at short notice is difficult. These are significant amounts," Transneft's CEO Nikolai Tokarev is quoted by Interfax as saying.
"As for our company, we will try to do everything possible as quickly as we can," he said.
Tokarev did not say if the ports halted operations.
PRIMORSK IS MAJOR OUTLET FOR URALS CRUDE
Primorsk, which is able to export more than 1 million barrels of crude oil per day, is a major outlet for Russia's flagship Urals crude and high-quality diesel.
According to sources, Ust-Luga exported 32.9 million metric tons of oil products last year, and Primorsk 16.8 million tons.
(Reuters)