Torbjorn Tornqvist, the CEO of Gunvor, estimated that Ukrainian drone strikes have disrupted Russia‘s ability to refine oil by around 600,000 barrels per day.
These strikes, which occurred over the weekend, targeted several facilities within Russia, some deep within its territory. This has led to an increase in diesel futures prices for the fourth consecutive session, while gasoline futures prices also rose for the sixth consecutive session.
Tornqvist stated during an interview at the 2024 CERAWeek conference hosted by S&P Global in Houston on Monday: “It’s significant, as it’s clear that it will immediately impact refined petroleum exports. So, it’s likely to result in a reduction in exports by 200,000 barrels, making it a refined oil problem for me.”
Gunvor was a major trader of Russian crude oil before the Ukrainian invasion but withdrew from trading shortly after the conflict began.
Overall, crude oil markets are largely balanced and have fair value, according to Tornqvist, who believes that US supplies are likely to increase this year by about half the rate of 2023, ranging between 700,000 and 800,000 barrels per day.
However, the growth in supplies from outside OPEC countries will likely remain steady this year.
Gunvor, founded by Tornqvist in 2000, recently purchased liquefied natural gas carriers and expects shipments to be a key driver of the company’s growth in the coming years.
Ukrainian drones recently targeted a small Russian petrochemical plant near Moscow in the latest of a series of intensified attacks on oil facilities in the country.
Russian air defence forces downed four Ukrainian drones on Friday evening in the Dzerzhinsky region near Kaluga, according to the region’s governor, Vladislav Shapsha.
The governor explained in a post on the Telegram platform that “there were no casualties or infrastructure damage” as a result of the attack.
