Russia has also successfully redirected exports east, with steady increases in loadings of ESPO (East Siberia Pacific Ocean) crude at Kozmino. And Urals crude loaded in Europe has made inroads into India’s west coast, supported by Rosneft’s ownership of the Vadinar refinery.
Urals delivered on India’s west coast averaged a modest $4.75/b discount to the Platts Dubai benchmark in the six months to the end of January. ESPO crude has yet to regain its pre-war premia, but has traded at discounts to Dubai of less than $5/b since September.
President Vladimir Putin underlined the strength of recent alliances with the OPEC+ group on a visit to the UAE and Saudi Arabia in December, coinciding with COP28 climate talks. Rosneft also retains an overseas footprint, including at Egypt’s prolific Zohr gas field.
Deputy Prime Minister and OPEC+ envoy Alexander Novak drove home the official line that sanctions make Russia stronger when he said in October, referring to the redirection of exports, “the main consumption of energy resources will in future be in [the Asia-Pacific] region… We would have to do this anyway. We just sped up a bit.”
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