Russia's oil output down 460,000 bpd year-on-year in April, IEA says

MOSCOW, May 13 (Reuters) - Russia's crude oil production declined by 460,000 barrels per day in April from the same month a year ago to around 8.8 million bpd, the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday, as Ukraine ramped up drone attacks on energy targets.

Crude exports, meanwhile, increased by 250,000 bpd from March to 4.9 million bpd, as disruptions in Gulf supplies caused by the Iran war attracted new buyers for Russian oil.

Since March, Ukraine has unleashed waves of drone strikes on some of Russia's biggest oil ports and attacked refineries in an effort to drain Moscow's war economy.

Reuters reported the oil production decline last month.

Russian oil output peaked in the late 1980s but cratered after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union due to a lack of investment. It recovered in the 2000s and 2010s reaching a post-Soviet peak in 2019 just before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The IEA also said Russia's oil product exports declined in April by 340,000 bpd from March to 2.2 million bpd, the lowest level in the Paris-based agency's records.

TOTAL OIL AND FUEL EXPORTS RECOVERING

"Russian total exports recovered in the second half of April, but never returned to the three-week average preceding the attacks on Baltic ports – covering the period between the start of the Middle East conflict and the Baltic disruptions – that peaked at 7.7 million bpd," it said.

The IEA said the rebound was driven by higher seaborne shipments via the Baltic Sea - an increase of 190,000 bpd from March - and a partial resumption of Druzhba pipeline flows to Hungary and Slovakia, which reached 60,000 bpd in the final week of April.

Since the onset of the Iran war, Russia has attracted new buyers for its Urals grade, with exports to Egypt averaging 200,000 bpd in April with a peak of 380,000 bpd in the week of April 20.

"With Urals exports at 1.9 million bpd, Russia is approaching pre‑Ukrainian war levels, suggesting loadings close to capacity," the IEA said.