The Kremlin said on Thursday that Russian diesel had begun to reach global markets following an agreement with US President Donald Trump.
Trump said last week that Russia had agreed to supply diesel to global markets in an effort to lower fuel prices, while Moscow partially lifted its ban on diesel exports from October 10 following the agreement.
“The diesel has started reaching global markets and is expected to have a positive effect on stabilising oil markets, although it will not be enough to fully stabilize them,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a daily conference call.
LSEG data showed on Wednesday that Russia had resumed diesel export loadings from the Baltic port of Primorsk.
According to the shipping data, a tanker carrying around 40,000 metric tons of ultra-low sulphur diesel was loaded on October 13 and was heading towards Morocco.
Trump is keen to lower US diesel prices ahead of US midterm elections on November 3.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, European officials and some of Trump’s fellow Republican politicians strongly criticised the deal.
Russia has rejected European criticism of the diesel deal as “cynical,” given that Europe continues to buy some Russian oil and liquefied natural gas.
Trump said on Friday that Russia would immediately supply more than 300,000 metric tons (2.25 million barrels) of diesel to US and global markets.
That is less than a day’s supply for the US transport sector alone, according to US Energy Information Administration data, which shows daily use of around 2.94 million barrels.
Trump also said Russia would supply another 500,000 tons in November and a further 1 million tons “immediately thereafter”, which is less than four days’ demand for US transport.
(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov; writing by Vladimir Soldatkin Editing by Andrew Osborn and Ros Russell)