Russian naphtha exports to Asia drop sharply as sanctions and refinery outages disrupt trade flows
Russian naphtha exports to Asia are falling this month as U.S. sanctions and refinery outages disrupt trade. Buyers are reducing orders while inventories swell.
Insights:
Russia 
RUnaphtha exports to Asia are set to fall in January while volumes in storage are swelling according to traders and analysts. This downturn comes as United States 
USsanctions have pressured key buyers including Taiwan 
TW, India 
IN, and Venezuela 
VE, significantly reducing the offtake of Russian naphtha. The drop is notable because Russiatypically exports 1.4 million to 1.5 million metric tons of naphtha per month.
RUnaphtha exports to Asia are set to fall in January while volumes in storage are swelling according to traders and analysts. This downturn comes as United States USsanctions have pressured key buyers including Taiwan TW, India IN, and Venezuela VE, significantly reducing the offtake of Russian naphtha. The drop is notable because Russiatypically exports 1.4 million to 1.5 million metric tons of naphtha per month.Preliminary shipping-source data showed that Russianaphtha exports to Asia could fall to about 600,000 tons in January, down from about 800,000 tons in December. Three Singapore 
SGbased traders preliminarily estimated that Asia imports of the product from Russiacould drop to between 700,000 and 800,000 tons in January and February. This represents a decline of about 30 percent compared to the monthly average of 1 million to 1.2 million tons seen in the first ten months of 2025.
SGbased traders preliminarily estimated that Asia imports of the product from Russiacould drop to between 700,000 and 800,000 tons in January and February. This represents a decline of about 30 percent compared to the monthly average of 1 million to 1.2 million tons seen in the first ten months of 2025.
