Saudi Arabia became the leading destination for exports of Russian fuel oil and vacuum gas oil, reports Baltimore Chronicle with reference to data from traders and the LSEG system. Following the European Union’s full embargo on Russian oil products in February 2023, countries in the Middle East and Asia have significantly increased their purchases of fuel oil and VGO from Russia.
Direct shipments of these oil products from Russian ports to Saudi Arabia in June grew by 9% compared to May, reaching 800 thousand tons. This increase was driven by higher energy consumption due to the summer heat.
At the same time, deliveries to India and Turkey saw a significant decline. Specifically, India received only 340 thousand tons of fuel oil and VGO, 49% less, while Turkey received 280 thousand tons, which was 33% less than in May.
Another important destination was Egypt’s Ain Sukhna, a large fuel hub, which received almost 400 thousand tons of fuel. Other buyers of Russian fuel oil included Singapore, Senegal, and China.
Since December 2023, following the rising risks in the Red Sea due to attacks by the Houthi group, tankers from Russia have been choosing a route around the Cape of Good Hope. In June, only two vessels with 180 thousand tons of fuel oil took this route to Asia.
Earlier we wrote that Saudi Arabia executes journalist Turki al-Jasser.