Russia has restarted limited oil loadings at its Black Sea port of Novorossiysk after a drone attack earlier this week forced a full suspension.
Operations at the Sheskharis terminal resumed late Thursday, but only one berth is currently active. A single cargo of roughly 80,000 tons is expected to depart, well below the terminal’s normal capacity of about 700,000 barrels per day.
The restart comes after the Monday strike that caused fires at a fuel terminal and damaged loading infrastructure. Shipments were halted entirely. The loading schedule had since been cut, and there is no timeline for a full return to operations.
Fuel flows are also only partially back. Fuel oil loadings resumed Thursday, and at least one diesel cargo has been shipped since the attack, according to Reuters sources familiar with port activity. Novorossiysk is one of Russia’s main export outlets on the Black Sea and a critical node for both Russian and Kazakh crude. The port handles shipments tied to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium system, which moves crude from major Kazakhstan fields including Tengiz and Kashagan.
Damage to infrastructure earlier this week included impacts to storage tanks and loading equipment linked to CPC operations. Kazakhstan has said its export flows remain stable, but it’s now operating with reduced flexibility.
Russian export infrastructure, including Baltic ports like Primorsk and Ust-Luga and several inland refineries, have repeatedly found themselves the target of Ukrainian drone attacks.
Each hit has tightened operational capacity rather than shutting it down completely. Cargoes are still moving, but at reduced rates and with fewer loading options available.
Novorossiysk’s partial restart restores some export flow, but capacity remains constrained.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
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