Russia’s oil exports are set to decline by as much as 1mn barrels a day this winter even as the country expands its “dark fleet” of tankers, according to the world’s biggest independent energy trader.
Russell Hardy, chief executive of London-based Vitol, said that while Russia had made progress in shielding itself from the effects of tougher sanctions affecting its seaborne crude that come into effect from December, exports are still likely to fall by 500,000 b/d to 1mn b/d this winter.
“The expectation is that nearly all European companies will turn their back on business that is not compliant,” Hardy told the Financial Times. “We think [Russia’s] logistical solutions are growing, they’re eating away at the problem. But whether or not they’ve eaten away at the whole problem we don’t know.”