The global appeal of Russian diesel fuel is growing amid the Gulf of Hormuz crisis.
Exports from the Baltic port of Primorsk from March 1 to 15 alone amounted to 1.4 million tons with 29 ship calls, according to data from the Price Index Center (PIC), RBK reported. This volume is almost comparable to deliveries from the same port for all of February.
A Ukrainian drone attack damaged fuel tanks in the port of Primorsk in the Leningrad Region on March 23. According to Reuters, the port has stopped loading oil and oil products.
At the same time, total diesel fuel exports from Russian ports fell in February, reaching a total of 2.3 million tons for the month, which is approximately 30% less than in January. Brazil is the main export destination, where Russia sent 680,000 tons of diesel fuel - a 4% decrease on a monthly basis. Exports to Turkey fell by 28% to 400,000 tons, while exports to African countries fell by 46% to 531,000 tons. Deliveries to other destinations fell by 19%, reaching 453,000 tons.
Gasoline is exported from Russia to countries outside the CIS, but the volumes are insignificant, two industry sources told RBC. Meanwhile, gasoline sales through the St. Petersburg exchange declined in March: while total daily sales exceeded 50,000 tons at the beginning of the month, they fell to 34,000 tons on March 20.
Russia supplies petroleum products under intergovernmental agreements (mainly to the EAEU countries and Mongolia) even during periods of bans on gasoline and diesel fuel exports.
Mongolia's Deputy Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Begzsurengin Enkhtuvshin said in March that the country would cover its fuel needs entirely through imports from Russia, as China had banned the export of petroleum products due to the situation in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Russian-Mongolian agreement, signed in 2024, provides for the supply of 1.8-1.9 million tons of petroleum products and 60,000 tons of jet fuel annually on mutually beneficial terms. basis.