Overview
- Industry sources said Thursday that Russia has lost about 1 million barrels a day of export capacity, and Transneft told shippers Ust-Luga cannot load to schedule or take full volumes.
- Satellite images from U.S. firm Vantor show at least eight 50,000‑cubic‑metre tanks at Primorsk damaged, wiping out at least 40% of the port’s storage.
- Imagery also indicates eight 30,000‑cubic‑metre product tanks at Ust-Luga were burned, and repeated strikes on March 22, 25, 27, 29 and 31 forced loading to stop.
- Sources report the pipeline network is now choked with crude and storage is filling, which could soon push field operators to curb output to avoid flooding the system.
- Seasonal refinery maintenance, the ongoing halt of the Druzhba line to Hungary and Slovakia, and Kazakh shipments that rely on Primorsk all magnify the disruption and the risk to Russia’s oil revenue.