The US and Europe’s efforts to limit Russia’s ability to sell its oil are forcing it to increasingly increase discounts for those willing to buy it. But even though such discounts have already exceeded $27 per barrel, huge volumes of raw materials still cannot find buyers. According to Vortexa, on February 10, about 143 million barrels of Russian oil were on tankers.
This is about half of the monthly production, notes The Wall Street Journal. Last year, it ranged from almost 9 million barrels per day in January (due to restrictions within OPEC+) to 9.43 million in November, and then began declining, falling to 9.28 million barrels in January 2026. Most of the tankers, which have turned into floating storage facilities, are operating near Russian, Indian, and Chinese ports or in areas used for oil transshipment from ship to ship, for example, near Malaysia, says Emma Lee, Vortexa’s lead analyst for the Chinese oil market.
According to her, “the timing of the sale of these barrels will largely depend on the level of discounts offered to potential buyers.” For Urals, the discounts at loading ports have reached a record $27.3 per barrel compared to Brent as a result of a non-stop increase since the beginning of November, according to Argus Media. The discount for the Far Eastern grade ESPO is $13 (The Moscow Times).
