Partial Easing of US Sanctions Did Not Help russia Increase Oil Shipments

In March 2026, russia failed to increase oil shipments through its own seaports, despite a temporary easing of US sanctions. The decisive factors were “infrastructure constraints and force majeure circumstances” at key export hubs.

According to data from S&P Global Platts, oil transshipments at russian ports in March fell to 3.46 million barrels per day, down from 3.49 million barrels per day in the previous month. A similar trend was observed in the petroleum products segment – the figure fell to 2.19 million bpd from 2.21 million bpd in February.

The key factor behind the decline was “disruptions in port infrastructure operations”. In particular, at the port of primorsk, shipments fell sharply at the end of the month from over 1.1 million bpd to 732,000 bpd. ust-luga also saw a significant decline: oil export volumes fell to 105,000 bpd during the period of March 25–31, compared to 471,000 bpd a week earlier. Shipments of petroleum products at this port effectively ceased at the end of the month.