Russia's crude oil export revenues jump to $19 billion in March as Iran war lifts prices

Russia’s oil and fuel export revenues rebounded in March, recovering from February’s lows as global prices surged amid the Iran war, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).Russia’s revenues from crude oil and refined products rose in March after falling to their lowest level since the start of the Ukraine conflict in 2022 in February, Reuters reported. The IEA said Russia’s oil and oil product export revenues nearly doubled to $19 billion in March from $9.75 billion in February, driven by higher global oil prices.Russia’s commodity revenues are a vital component of the state budget and are required to support rising military spending.Crude oil exports rose by 270,000 barrels per day from February to 4.6 million bpd, largely driven by higher seaborne shipments as the Druzhba pipeline remained offline.Flows via the Druzhba pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia through Ukrainian territory have remained shut following attacks on the infrastructure at the end of January.Russia’s crude production increased to 8.96 million bpd in March from 8.67 million bpd in February.However, the agency cautioned that Russia may struggle to raise oil production beyond early first-quarter levels in the near term due to damage to port and energy infrastructure.Russian Baltic and Black Sea ports, along with refineries, have been repeatedly hit by Ukrainian drone strikes.