Russian seaborne diesel and gasoline exports increased by 11% to approximately 1.9 million tonnes in the first 17 days of this month, compared with the same period in June, as production grew after seasonal refinery maintenance, Refinitiv Eikon data revealed.
It was noted that fuel exports by sea rebounded after Russian refineries increased production following maintenance work.
Turkey and Brazil were the main destinations for Russian fuel shipments, with nearly half of overall supplies. So far in July, diesel exports from the country's ports to Turkey stood at 631,000 tonnes, while shipments to Brazil - 300,000 tonnes.
About 250,000 tonnes of Russian fuels with unknown destination were also tracked this month during ship-to-ship transfers near the Greek port of Kalamata and near Malta. According to traders, it is expected that most of the shipments identified as unknown will end up in Turkey and other countries of the Middle East.
Russian diesel volumes exported to Fujairah, the commercial center of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), remained unchanged from June, totaling 150,000 tonnes as of July 17, according to data cited by the platform.
Following the onset of the special military operation in Ukraine, the West imposed sanctions on Russia targeting exports of its hydrocarbons, including crude oil and petroleum products. Despite this, Moscow has been increasing cooperation in the energy field with its partners in Africa and the Middle East.
In February, media reported that North African countries, namely Tunisia and Morocco, had significantly increased imports of diesel and other refined petroleum products from Russia. It was stressed that North Africa had "picked up the slack," as Russia is now largely cut off from the European market.