In April, India and Egypt emerged as the top destinations for Russian seaborne fuel oil and vacuum gasoil (VGO) exports, according to LSEG data. Despite a 10% decrease in overall exports due to maintenance and outages, shipments to these countries saw notable increases.

Shift in Export Destinations

The European Union's embargo on Russian oil products, effective February 2023, redirected Russia's fuel oil and VGO exports primarily to Asia. This shift led to a rise in shipments to India, while exports to China saw a decline. Egypt also experienced an increase in fuel oil supplies, primarily for power generation.

Export Figures

In April 2024, Russian fuel oil and VGO shipments to India rose to 0.6 million metric tons from 0.4 million tons in March. Conversely, exports to China dropped to approximately 450,000 tons from 660,000 tons the previous month.

Egypt's Increased Imports

Egypt's fuel oil imports surged to nearly 0.5 million tons in April, up from 0.1 million tons in March. All shipments were discharged at the Ain Sukhna Terminal, which traders use for storage and blending in preparation for the summer power generation needs. As of May, at least 200,000 tons of fuel oil had already been loaded in Russian ports for delivery to Ain Sukhna.

Other Key Destinations

Fujairah saw an increase in Russian VGO and fuel oil imports, with loadings rising to about 260,000 tons in April from 60,000 tons in March. Meanwhile, supplies to Senegal decreased to around 100,000 tons from 310,000 tons in March, and shipments to Saudi Arabia fell to 200,000 tons from 490,000 tons.

Ship-to-Ship Loadings

Approximately 300,000 tons of VGO and fuel oil loaded in Russian ports in April were designated for ship-to-ship transfers near Greece and Malta, with most of these cargoes ultimately heading to Asia.

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