Urals exports scheduled at 14-year low in May

摘要

Urals exports from Russian Baltic and Black Sea ports supplied by the Transneft pipeline system are scheduled at just over 1.28mn b/d in May, down by 42pc, or 940,000 b/d, from the April schedule. The drop could refect planned output cuts by Russian producers — Russia has pledged to rein in output by just over 2.5mn b/d in May-June from a baseline of 11mn b/d, as part of its commitment to the latest Opec+ production restraint agreement. But market participants say that the May schedule could be revised up — product demand in Russia has fallen because of lockdown measures to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, which is expected to cut refnery runs, potentially leaving more crude available for export.