Daily Energy Report
Turkey’s imports of Russian oil products, Saudi crude exports, Russian oil flows, India’s windfall tax on crude imports, proposal to ban diesel cars in India by 2027, and more
CHART OF THE DAY: Turkey’s Imports of Russian Oil Products Soar in April
Summary:
Turkey’s imports of Russian oil products soared to 475,000 barrels per day (b/d) in April, Kpler’s data shows, compared to only 141,000 b/d during the same month last year. This is the highest level ever seen over the past years based on the data we used, which covers the period from 2019 to 2023. Diesel has made up around 70% of Turkey’s Russian oil imports, according to Kpler.
EOA’s Main Takeaway:
Despite reports of lower Russian seaborne oil products last month (see below), we believe that the main story was the strong flow of Russian oil products to Turkey, particularly after some European officials said that Russian oil products are entering Europe via third parties—and which we covered last week.
Kpler’s data shows that Greece, Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands have been among the top European markets to which Turkey has been exporting oil products. Moreover, a noticeable rise can be seen in exports to Greece and the Netherlands last month. Although it is difficult to confirm that Russian oil products are entering Europe via Turkey, the sharp increase in Turkey’s imports from Russia, which has been accompanied by a spike in Turkish oil exports to some European markets, suggests that this could be a possibility. For more data on Turkey’s oil product exports to Greece and the Netherlands and other European markets, readers are encouraged to subscribe to the EOA Weekly Newsletter in which we discussed this subject in detail today.
STORY OF THE DAY
REUTERS: Saudi crude exports falling in May after April jump, trackers say
Summary:
Reuters reported today that Saudi Arabia's crude exports have taken a downward trend this month after the OPEC+ voluntary output cuts went into effect earlier this month and following a boost in Saudi crude flows in April.
The report quoted Petro-Logistics Chief Executive Daniel Gerber as saying in an emailed statement: "While exports were fairly robust in early May, we are seeing signs of reductions coming as the month progresses/as the voluntary cuts take hold."