Russian crude oil exports at sea fell to their lowest point in almost two years in the past week, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, a significant decline in the aftermath of the administration of President Donald Trump imposing sanctions on Russian oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil.
According to the business news outlet, the week ending on November 2 saw eight fewer oil tankers documented as filled with oil than the week before — 26 carrying 21.11 million barrels, compared to 34 the week prior, documented at 26.41 million barrels.
The U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions on Lukoil and Rosneft on October 22 in response to the Russian government’s refusal to negotiate an end to its nearly four-year-old full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Russian government insists that the democratically elected government of Ukraine is a “Nazi” entity that must be eradicated and, while leader Vladimir Putin has agreed to talks to end the war with Trump, they have yielded no material results.
“Given President Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war, Treasury is sanctioning Russia’s two largest oil companies that fund the Kremlin’s war machine,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, announcing the sanctions. “Treasury is prepared to take further action if necessary to support President Trump’s effort to end yet another war. We encourage our allies to join us in and adhere to these sanctions.”
The Bloomberg article is evidence of the first impact of the sanctions.
“Four-week average volumes from the country’s ports were 3.58 million barrels a day to Nov. 2, according to vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg, down by about 190,000 from the revised figure for the period to Oct. 26,” the outlet reported. “The average provides a clearer picture of underlying trends than more volatile weekly figures, which also sank.”
Bloomberg reported that part of the reason for the decline appeared to be the cancelation of Russian orders from two of China’s largest oil processors, Sinopec and PetroChina Co., after the Rosneft and Lukoil sanctions.
The Kyiv Independent reported on Tuesday that the Russian tanker loading statistics also may not tell the full story, as “tankers [are] now being used as floating storage facilities” but not actually taking the oil anywhere.
China is the world’s largest buyer of Russian oil alongside India and Turkey.
India, in contrast, appears to have slightly increased its purchases. According to Reuters, the data firms Kpler and OilX documented a slight increase in Indian crude oil imports from Russia in October compared to September. Even with this data, however, Reuters warned that “India’s Russian oil shipments are expected to slow starting in November after the U.S. sanctioned two major suppliers last month.
Some signs have surfaced that Turkey, as well, may be looking to buy less Russian oil. While a fuel purchaser, the Turkish government, which has also controversially sought to purchase Russian missiles, is an enthusiastic supporter of ending the Ukraine invasion and has mediated on several occasions to ensure shipments of grain and other necessities to Ukraine. On Sunday, Reuters reported that major Turkish oil refineries were placing increasingly large orders for crude from sources such as Kazakhstan and Iraqi Kurdistan, an indication that they are seeking alternatives to Russia.
The Russian government initially dismissed the latest round of sanctions as minimally concerning.
“We consider this step to be extremely counterproductive,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters at a briefing. “But we will not face any particular problems in connection with the abovementioned decision by the [U.S.] Treasury Department.”
“Our country has developed a strong immunity to Western restrictions and will continue to confidently develop its economic and political potential,” she added.
Some days after the sanctions announcement, Lukoil itself appeared to counter the official narrative, announcing that it would undergo major sales of foreign assets to stay afloat.
“The sale of the assets is conducted under OFAC wind down license. If necessary the Company plans to apply for extension of the license to ensure uninterrupted operations of its international assets,” Lukoil noted, referring to the Treasury’s sanctions department.
Many of those overseas assets, reports indicated, would be gas stations and refineries in Turkey.
While no progress has been made publicly in ending the Ukraine war, President Trump made clear following a meeting with genocidal Chinese dictator Xi Jinping last week that it remains a priority and he is willing to discuss with China ending the Ukraine war.
“We talked about it for a long time,” Trump told reporters, referring to his conversation with Xi about Ukraine, “and we’re both going to work together to see if we can get something done.”
“We agree that the sides are, you know, locked in and fighting, and sometimes you have to let them fight, I guess. Crazy. But he’s going to help us and we’re going to work together on Ukraine,” Trump noted.
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