Russia nearly doubled its earnings from oil exports in March as Moscow was granted sanctions relief in a bid to offset soaring energy prices during the war in the Middle East, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said.
The country earned $19 billion last month as crude and oil product exports soared to 7.1 million barrels per day (mb/d) from just 320,000 barrels a day in February.
IEA also said on Tuesday that Russia's crude production increased last month to 8.96 million bpd from 8.67 million bpd in February.
The United States eased some restrictions on sales of Russian crude imposed over its war in Ukraine, allowing countries to purchase oil that was already at sea until April 11.
Analysts said Russian oil had previously been sold at a steep discount because sanctions raised legal, financial and logistical costs.
But the waivers have allowed Moscow to market some crude at closer to open-market prices.
Russia's revenues from crude oil and refined products rose in March, rebounding from February when they fell to their lowest level since the start of the Ukraine conflict in 2022.
Flows via the Druzhba pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia across Ukrainian territory have remained shut following the attacks on the pipeline infrastructure at the end of January.
The agency also said that Russia may struggle to increase oil production above the levels seen in the early first quarter in the near term, given damage to port and energy infrastructure.
Russian Baltic and Black Sea ports and refineries have been repeatedly damaged by Ukrainian drone strikes.
Demand for oil
Meanwhile, Demand for crude oil will likely see the biggest slump in the second quarter since the Covid pandemic slammed the global economy in 2020, the International Energy Agency said.
Surging prices caused by the war in the Middle East will force many countries and industries to curb oil use, and "demand destruction will spread as scarcity and higher prices persist", the agency said in its monthly report.
It noted that its forecasts assume a "base case" of oil shipments resuming in May through the Strait of Hormuz, which remains effectively closed since the US and Israel began bombing Iran on February 28.
This would lead to a decline in demand of 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) in the second quarter, "the sharpest since Covid-19 slashed fuel consumption", the IEA said.
If the Hormuz remains closed, it could see oil demand plunge even further, the IEA said.
