Russiaupdated 52m ago2 min read
Russia Ships 20 Million Barrels Via Northern Sea Route, Boosting Arctic Oil Exports
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About 20 million barrels of Russian oil shipped via the NSR to Asia through mid-October. NSR volume rose nearly 50% year-over-year.
5 outlets told this the same way.
Exports surge on NSR
Russia’s oil exports through the Northern Sea Route in 2026 have already exceeded last year’s by nearly 50 per cent, with some 20 million barrels shipped to Asia from the start of navigation in July to mid-October, traders said and data showed. Russia’s Northern Sea Route links Russia’s western ports with Asian markets through icy Arctic waters, and traders said it is considered a more dangerous and expensive route. Russia controls the NSR, and the route is presented as a secure alternative to European waters where tankers with its oil have been regularly arrested this year.
Gazprom Neft plans to increase its shipments via the NSR by some 35 per cent this year compared with 2025, its CEO Alexander Dyukov told journalists on Friday in Moscow. President Vladimir Putin told an economic forum in Vladivostok in September that Russia expects cargo turnover via the NSR to double to 70 million tonnes annually by the end of the decade.
Disruptions reshape routes
Traders said the NSR became more attractive in 2026 as disruptions affected routes in the Suez Canal, the Strait of Hormuz and the Black Sea area. Tankers freight rates have soared to record highs as wars with Iran and in Ukraine have stoked inflation and put U.S. crude oil out of reach for Asian refiners, driving them to seek alternatives from the Middle East and Latin America. Russia is stepping up its oil and gas exports to Asia via the Northern Sea Route between Murmansk and the Bering Strait amid disruptions on traditional routes through the Suez Canal, the Strait of Hormuz and the Black Sea.
The route, controlled by Russia and dependent on icebreakers, has become more competitive following higher maritime shipping rates and escalating conflicts in Iran and Ukraine. Shipments could rise by another 5-10 million barrels before the current navigation period ends, according to preliminary estimates by traders cited by Reuters.
LNG and new projects
Russia’s NSR expansion also includes liquefied natural gas shipments, with CBC saying Russia supplies significant volumes of LNG to Asia via the NSR and that LNG supply via the NSR is expected to rise this year after the launch of Arctic LNG shipments. Rosneft’s giant new oil project in the north of Russia, Vostok Oil, opened last month and is already contributing to the rising volumes using the NSR. Vostok Oil, Rosneft’s major oil project in northern Russia, began operations last month and is already contributing to rising volumes along the route.
India remained the world’s largest destination for Russian crude oil in September, although imports fell nearly 29 per cent from July levels as Chinese refiners stepped up purchases and tightened the availability of Russian supplies, according to ship-tracking data from Kpler. The volume of Russian oil exported through the Arctic route is expected to rise by another five to 10 million barrels by the end of the navigation period, traders' preliminary estimates show.