Transneft News

Chevron is sending cargoes of Kazakhstan's CPC Blend oil to Asia around Africa's Cape of Good Hope rather than via the Red Sea to avoid the risk of attacks by Yemen’s Houthis, according to three industry sources and LSEG ship-tracking data.The Iranian-aligned Houthis have stepped up attacks on shipping despite U.S.-led air strikes on the group's positions in Yemen, leading more vessels to avoid using the Red Sea and the Suez Canal - the shortest sea route between Europe and Asia.CPC Blend crude is loaded at the Russian Black Sea terminal of Yuzhnaya Ozereevka, near Novorossisk.

Russian ports are operating during more severe storms and easing restrictions for non ice-class vessels during winter, traders said and regulations showed, in an attempt to boost exports following disruptions from Western sanctions and harsh weather.Following the European Union oil embargo, Russia has to rely mostly on seaborne loadings, rather than westbound pipeline supplies via the Druzhba pipeline.Traders and analysts said the easing of restrictions carried technical and ecological risks, but could help Russia's revenues that are heavily reliant on oil.Russian pipeline monopoly Transneft,

President Vladimir Putin signed on Wednesday a decree transferring to Russia's state nuclear power company Rosatom state-owned shares of the Far Eastern Shipping Company, parent company of transportation group Fesco.Fesco was formerly controlled by Ziyavudin Magomedov, who was convicted last year on organized crime and embezzlement charges and is serving a 19-year jail sentence following one of the highest-profile prosecutions of a Russian tycoon in years.Magamedov says the charges are unfounded and is appealing his conviction.

Russian tycoon Ziyavudin Magomedov, jailed at home in Russia, has launched a London lawsuit seeking nearly $14 billion over his holdings in valuable port operators, which he says were seized as part of a state-backed conspiracy.The businessman filed the lawsuit at London's High Court on July 20 against several defendants, including Russian state nuclear energy company Rosatom, oil pipeline operator Transneft, private equity firm TPG, and UAE-based port operator DP World.Magomedov…

The Russian government has approved some changes to its fuel export ban, lifting the restrictions for fuel used as bunkering for some vessels as well as diesel with high content of sulphur, a government document showed on Monday. It also lifted restrictions on the export of fuel already accepted for export by the Russian Railways and Transneft before the initial ban had been announced last week. The ban on all types of gasoline and high-quality diesel remains in place. Russia…

Exports of Russia's flagship Urals crude blend from Baltic Sea ports may fall by up to a fifth in December, after a Western price cap and an EU embargo on Russian oil took effect, according to traders and Reuters calculations.Traders said Russia has been unable to fully redirect Urals exports from Europe to other markets, notably India and China, and it had struggled to find enough suitable vessels.According to traders' data and calculations made by Reuters, Urals exports from the Baltic Sea ports will probably fall to around 5 million tonnes this month from 6 million tonnes in November.

Russian and Kazakh oil exports via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium's (CPC) Black Sea terminal face at least one month's disruption each once repairs begin on two of its three single point moorins (SPMs), CPC confirmed on Tuesday.Oil exports via the two SPMs have been suspended due to equipment damaged by bad winter weather, CPC said on Monday, confirming a Reuters report on Saturday.CPC added that a planned inspection of the third SPM at the Yuzhnaya Ozereyevka terminal would require it to be temporarily shut for a matter of hours.

Russian investigators were conducting searches at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) after Saturday's oil spill near the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk, the regional branch of the investigative committee said on Thursday.Russia opened a criminal investigation on the spill, which occurred during loading of a tanker moored to an offshore floating jetty. According to CPC, a crucial part of the jetty broke and caused the accident."In connection with the criminal case, representatives of the Investigative Committee are interviewing CPC employees and examining documents. The consortium provides the necessary assistance to the investigation team…

Russia has ordered the mandatorydisinfection of ships arriving at the Black Sea ports of Novorossiisk and Yuzhnaya Ozereyevka from Iran, Italy and South Korea because of the coronavirus, a  document seen by Reuters showed.A branch of Rospotrebnadzor, Russia's consumer safety watchdog, has ordered port agents "to arrange the disinfectionof ships arriving from these countries before the border is opened" in the city of Novorossiisk, the document showed.Novorossiisk port is one of the biggest on the Black Sea.

NCSP Group, Europe's third largest port operator in terms of cargo turnover,  its subsidiary Novorosleseksport (NLE AO) will receive port equipment from Liebherr-Russland OOO.Dmitry Korchnev, General Director at NLE AO, and German Ignatov, Director of the Port Equipment Department at Liebherr-Russland OOO, signed a contract on purchase of two ship-to-shore cranes (STS) with a capacity of 65 tons for loading and offloading of 20, 30, 40 and 45 feet ISO containers from a vessel to shore and back.The SPS cranes delivery is scheduled for 2021, said a press note.These cranes will ensure the processing of Bosphormax container ships (300 m length, 48.0 m width) at NLE AO berths No.

Russian oil quality from the Baltic port of Ust-Luga was improving on Thursday but still not good enough for refiners in Europe, with required standards expected only by May 11, trading sources said.The oil has been contaminated with organic chlorides, which can destroy refining equipment.

A clash between trading house Vitol and Azerbaijan's SOCAR over Caspian Sea oil shipments is forcing Turkmenistan to slash exports of crude due to a lack of tankers.Turkmenistan typically exports about 200,000 tonnes of oil per month via the Caspian to world markets, mainly from fields operated by the UAE's ENOC and Italy's Eni, but flows have halved in recent weeks, six traders involved in operations said.That happened after Turkmen producers decided to export oil via Russia with the help of Swiss trader Vitol and ditch the previous Azeri route…

Russia's second-biggest bank VTB is buying one of the biggest grain terminals at the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk, in a surprise move that gives the state lender more control over the country's main deep-sea grain export hub.VTB, which already owns a stake in another grain terminal at the port, said on Thursday that it was buying 100 percent of Novorossiysk Grain Terminal from Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port (NSCP).Its deal to buy the terminal from NSCP, which is controlled…

Exports of Turkmen oil via Russia's Black sea port of Novorossiisk will resume in February, four market sources said.Turkmenistan stopped transit of its oil via Russia in 2016 and has been exporting all its crude via the Azeri Caspian port of Baku.Pumping Turkmen oil through the Makhachkala-Novorossiisk pipeline could add as much as 200,000 tonnes of crude per month into Russia’s Transneft system. Turkmenistan is currently shipping oil via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline…

Russian oil pipeline monopoly Transneft has rejected a proposal from its rival Summa Group to complete a deal to buy a Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port (NCSP), a Transneft spokesman said on Monday.If the deal goes ahead it will allow Transneft to take control of Russia's largest port operator. But Transneft said earlier this month it had suspended talks on the deal after the authorities arrested the co-owner of Summa, Ziyavudin Magomedov, on charges of embezzling more than $35 million.Magomedov denied the charges at a pre-trial hearing…

Moscow tightened its grip on Russia's biggest port operator on Friday, making a government official chairman and ousting representatives of the only private shareholder from the board.The changes follow the arrest last month on organized crime and embezzlement charges of Ziyavudin Magomedov, head of the Summa conglomerate which with a joint venture partner owns a 50.1 percent stake in the port operator. He denies the charges.Several senior Russian business executives have said the prosecution would allow the state to extend its control over the Russian economy…

Russia plans to sharply increase fuel exports and carve out a larger share of the European market following an extensive $55 billion modernisation of its refineries, companies' plans and analysts' reports show. Russia embarked on a modernisation of its biggest refineries in 2011 following a fuel shortage crisis. It also changed its tax system to favour production of cleaner and higher-quality fuel. The modernisation, which has not been completed yet, led to a surge in output of light products and exports, which has hurt European refineries' margins.

Russian pipeline monopoly Transneft said on Friday that oil loadings from the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk had resumed after a storm.   Transneft added in a statement, however, that weather conditions at the port remained unstable. (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Writing by Alexander Winning)

Russian oil pipeline monopoly Transneft said it had resumed oil loadings from the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk on Friday morning after a storm. Transneft also said that it expected to export 30.6 million tonnes of oil from Novorossiisk, 50.6 million tonnes from Primorsk, 30 million tonnes from Ust-Luga and 31.7 million tonnes from Kozmino this year.   Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin

Russian oil exports from the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk were suspended on Sunday due to storm, oil pipeline monopoly Transneft said on Monday.   It also said that loadings from the Pacific outlet of Kozmino resumed on Sunday after storm, which did not affect the loading schedule.   Other ports are working according to their plans, Transneft said. (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; editing by Polina Devitt)

Russian state oil pipeline monopoly Transneft plans to resume oil loadings from the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk at midday on Friday following a storm, the company said on Friday. Russia's other ports operated by Transneft are working as usual, it added. Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin

Turkish maritime authorities have reopened Istanbul's Bosphorus Strait to transiting tankers after shutting it earlier on Saturday for several hours following what the government said was an attempted coup by a faction in the military. The Bosphorus is one of world's most important chokepoints for the maritime transit of oil with over three percent of global supply - mainly from Russia and the Caspian Sea - passing through the 17-mile waterway that connects the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. It also ships vast amounts of grains from Russia and Kazakhstan to world markets. On Saturday, forces loyal to the Turkish government fought to crush the remnants of a military coup attempt, following violence and clashes in Ankara and Istanbul.

Russia's oil pipeline monopoly Transneft has the capacity to reroute oil from Russia and the Caspian Sea to other destinations if Turkey shuts the Bosphorus or Dardanelles straits, RIA News agency cites Transneft chief as saying. Turkish maritime authorities on Saturday shut the Bosphorus Strait to tankers for several hours following what the government said was an attempted coup. The strait, which links the Black Sea and Sea of Marmara and is important for oil shipping, was reopened the same day. Nikolai Tokarev, the head of Transneft, said the company has enough spare capacity in its westbound pipeline system to reroute oil in the event of any further closures of the straits.