Med crude-Urals oil trades at premium, more barrels shipped via the Arctic route to Asia

Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port PAO

03/09/2026 17:09

MOSCOW, Sep 3 (Reuters) - Urals crude oil cargoes for loading in September and early October traded at premiums to Brent at ports of delivery, while more cargoes have been shipped to China via the Russia's Arctic Northern Sea Route (NSR), traders said and data showed.
Russia has shipped more than 10 million barrels of crude oil via the Northern Sea Route so far this year, boosting supplies to China as buyers seek alternative sources amid disruptions to Iranian exports and concerns over Middle East shipping routes, two trade sources said and LSEG shipping data showed.
Urals oil cargoes for delivery in October still traded at a premium of around $1 per barrel to dated Brent in Indian ports - the main market for the grade, traders said.
Meanwhile Urals exports from the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk remained under pressure due to high security risks in the Black Sea. Traders said it was increasingly difficult to find a shipping company to load Russian oil from the port.
     
PLATTS WINDOW
There were no bids or offers on Thursday for Urals, CPC Blend or Azeri BTC, traders said.
NEWS 
Russia will soon restore the remaining oil refining capacity that was knocked out by Ukrainian drone attacks and will respond with attacks of its own, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.
Kazakhstan's August crude oil and gas condensate production rose to 8.47 million metric tons, or about 2.06 million barrels per day (bpd), from 7.6 million tons, or 1.85 million bpd, in July, an industry source familiar with operational data told Reuters.

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)