Far Eastern Exports?

A surge in production coinciding with Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cuts allowed Russia to briefly assume the role of the world’s largest crude oil exporter in 2009. Russia has maintained high levels of crude oil production this year, but it is the country’s expanding export infrastructure that has been felt most directly within the tanker market. A new pipeline and recently-christened Kozmino Oil Terminal are the latest developments in the Eastern Siberia – Pacific Ocean (ESPO) project and they have already demonstrated potential to offset some long-haul ton-mile demand from the Arabian Gulf. As construction of the ESPO pipeline and use of its crude oil continues, they will mark an important development likely to influence tanker trade flows in the Pacific region and beyond. Download here