Urals and KEBCO crude oil grade loadings from Russia’s Baltic ports over Jan. 1-20 may rise by some 50% compared to the same period of December after freight issues eased, traders said and Reuters calculations showed.

Total crude loadings from Primorsk and Ust-Luga in January will exceed 6.0 million tonnes and may reach 6.5 million tonnes, up from the 4.7 million tonnes loaded in December, traders said.

On top of that, the ports have loaded some 300,000 tonnes of crude catching up with December’s export plan, Reuters sources added.

Urals, KEBCO and Siberian Light loadings from Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiisk in January were set at 2.18 million tonnes, slightly below 2.24 million tonnes in the December plan.

Kazakhstan has changed the name of the oil it exports via Russian sea ports to Kazakhstan Export Blend Crude Oil (KEBCO) to dissociate it from oil originating in Russia in order to avoid sanction risks and issues with financing.
Source: Reuters (Editing by Mark Potter)