June 17, 2016 [OPIS] - Lukoil, the world's largest exporter of ultra-low-sulfur diesel to Europe, is now shipping nearly 40% of all its middle distillate cargoes from the Russian Baltic port of Vysotsk since a new pipeline began operating in late January.
Volumes were previously limited to a few shipments a month until February, according to data compiled by OPIS with nearly all volumes leaving the port of Primorsk. Monthly average exports from Primorsk averaged 1.23 million tons over the month, slightly less than last year’s average.
The shipments are possible after Transneft began sending ULSD to Lukoil’s product terminal at Vysotsk via an expanded pipeline network, with 2.3 million tons on 54 tankers loaded from Vysotsk, starting in February through the end of June.
That compares to less than a dozen shipments over the corresponding six-month period in 2015.
Lukoil, via its trading arm of Litasco, was tracked shipping 3.9 million tons of ULSD to Europe in the January-through-June period, of which 1.57 million tons came from Vysotsk. The remainder was shipped from the largest diesel export port of Primorsk, and via other Baltic ports.
The second-largest exporter was Glencore, a new player in the market this year after reaching a supply agreement with Russian refiner Surgutneftegas in February.
Glencore shipped 1.6 million tons, with 1.4 million tons being exported in the second quarter alone, according to data collated by OPIS.
Russia supplied 42% of Europe’s 44.8 million tons of imported ULSD in 2015, with this rising to 50% in this year’s first quarter, according to data from Eurostat, the European Commission’s statistics database.
