Oil Shipments Resume At Russia’s Novorossiysk Port After Ukrainian Attack

Russia’s Novorossiysk port resumed oil loadings on Sunday, two days after operations were halted following a Ukrainian missile and drone attack.

The development was confirmed by two industry sources, who shared the information on condition of anonymity, while data from LSEG also showed that tankers had begun taking on cargo again.

The port, along with the neighbouring Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal, briefly suspended exports on Friday.

The interruption impacted around 2.2 million barrels per day, equal to 2% of the world’s oil supply. As a result, global crude prices increased by more than 2% amid concerns of a longer disruption.

LSEG data indicated that two vessels, the Suezmax Arlan and the Aframax Rodos, were loading oil at Novorossiysk’s berths on Sunday. The Ukrainian attack caused damage to two oil berths, forcing the temporary halt.

Video Credits: Ukraine:News/Facebook

The strike has been described by industry figures as the most damaging Ukrainian attack so far on Russia’s main Black Sea crude export infrastructure.

Novorossiysk is the country’s largest export hub in the region and is responsible for roughly one-fifth of Russia’s crude shipments.

A prolonged closure would have posed a risk of production shut-ins in West Siberia, which could have reduced the amount of Russian oil reaching global markets.

The attack came after months of Ukrainian drone operations targeting Russian refineries, storage sites and pipelines. Despite these repeated strikes, Reuters reported last week that Russia’s overall oil processing had declined by only 3% this year.

The CPC terminal, which handles exports of Kazakh oil via the Black Sea, restarted loadings on Friday after a short suspension.

Industry sources said that the Sheskharis terminal at Novorossiysk shipped 3.22 million tonnes of Russian crude in October, equal to approximately 761,000 barrels per day. The port also handled 1.794 million tonnes of oil products during the same month.

Reference: Reuters

Source: Maritime Shipping News