Other Swiss-based traders Glencore, Gunvor, and Petraco loaded Russian crude in March, though the volumes they took were slightly lower than in previous months, according to shipping data and information from traders.
Vitol’s 10 cargoes is on a par with February and January and broadly in line with an average of 9.6 since its deal with Rosneft started in October. Its monthly average for the first nine months of 2021 was 5.1 cargoes.this month on concerns about US and European bans on Russian oil imports. Urals crude, meanwhile, has been trading at record discounts to Brent prices.
Deals for April are still being struck but so far Trafigura has lined up eight cargoes for the first 10 days of the month and Vitol has six. The companies are also offering Russian oil known as ESPO Blend, which is exported via Asian ports, in May.