Saudi Arabia Leads Russian Fuel Oil Imports Amid Summer Demand

Russia's fuel oil and vacuum gasoil (VGO) shipments to Saudi Arabia remained strong in July, despite an overall decline in exports. According to data from traders and LSEG, Saudi Arabia received 1.1 million metric tons of fuel oil and VGO, down 18% from June but still the top destination for Russian seaborne fuel.

The Middle East has become a key market for Russia's fuel oil and VGO exports since the European Union's full embargo on Russian oil products took effect in February 2023. Saudi Arabia has been buying discounted Russian fuel oil for its power sector, rather than valuable crude oil that would be burned for electricity.

Russian fuel exports to Singapore and Malaysia rose 2.5 times month-on-month in July to around 0.47 million tons. However, there were no shipments of fuel oil or VGO from Russian ports to India last month, following 150,000 tons in June.