(Bloomberg) -- Russia’s oil-product exports rose to a five-month high in December as the end of seasonal refinery maintenance boosted flows of key fuels like diesel and naphtha.
Seaborne shipments of petroleum products totaled 2.24 million barrels a day last month, data compiled by Bloomberg from analytics firm Vortexa Ltd. show. That’s 12% above November’s revised volumes and the highest since July.
The flows are one of the key indicators for the market to access the nation’s crude production after Moscow classified official output data. Russia’s crude production in December dropped below its OPEC+ target, according to people familiar with Energy Ministry figures.
Russia’s December refinery rates headed for a 17-month high as of the middle of the month, boosting fuel production. Diesel and naphtha outflows led the jump in fuel shipments last month, the Vortexa data show.
Still, the country’s overall refined-fuel exports in December were about 10% below the year-earlier level. Also, 2024’s average outflows were about 12% below volumes seen in 2022, when Europe was still importing Russian fuels.
Here’s a breakdown of oil-product shipments from Russian ports for December:
Diesel and gasoil exports advanced 17% month-on-month to a five-month high of 899,000 barrels a day, with shipments bound for African ports jumping 33%. Turkey and Brazil remained the top buyers of Russian diesel last year, though volumes to Africa rose on flows notably to Libya, Tunisia and Egypt.
Naphtha exports gained 22% to 444,000 barrels a day, the highest since May. Asia-bound cargoes climbed to a nine-month high, and Taiwan surpassed China to become the largest buyer of Russian naphtha for the year.
Fuel oil shipments increased almost 8% to 711,000 barrels a day, the highest since February. Bigger sales to Asia and Africa offset smaller flows to the Middle East.
Outflows of refinery feedstocks, which include vacuum gasoil, fell 7% to 125,000 barrels a day.
Gasoline and blending component shipments more than halved to 14,000 barrels a day last month, while jet fuel flows climbed 23% to 44,000 barrels a day.
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