Overview
- Russia’s Ust-Luga and Primorsk oil ports remain largely unable to load cargoes after Ukrainian drone attacks in March.
- Refineries are diverting fuel by rail to smaller ports such as Vysotsk or to Taman on the Black Sea, which adds cost and strains limited capacity.
- Satellite images from Vantor show Primorsk lost at least 40% of its storage after fires damaged eight large tanks.
- Imagery also indicates Ust-Luga lost about a quarter of its petroleum-product tank storage and suffered damage to some piers.
- Industry sources report export capacity is down by about 1 million barrels per day, clogging the Transneft pipeline system and likely forcing production cuts that could reduce Russia’s oil revenue.