Sergey Tereshkin's column for the VGUDOK publication. The article discusses the impact of the OPEC+ deal on the transportation of oil and petroleum products via Russian Railways (RZD) networks. In the first half of 2024, cargo volumes decreased by 1.1% to 104.4 million tons, which is attributed to the reduction in oil production in Russia under the agreement. Despite this, oil and petroleum products remain high-margin cargo for RZD, providing a significant portion of the company's revenue. The article also explores the prospects for the transportation ...

.... The decline affected both dry and liquid cargoes: the handling of dry cargo fell by 6.0% to 133.7 million tons, while liquid cargo decreased by 4.7% to 146.9 million tons. Exports continue to dominate with 221.3 million tons (−5.4%) of the total volume, while the share of imports remains modest at 13.7 million tons (+2.4%). The reduction in cargo flows may impact investments in port infrastructure and logistics. Regional Dynamics A downturn is observed across all key maritime basins, except for the Far East. The Baltic Sea basin showed the least decline at (−2.6%), while the ...

... is being constructed in Ust-Luga, which includes a gas processing plant (GPP) with a capacity of 45 billion cubic meters of gas per year and an LNG plant with a capacity of 13 million tons per year. How this benefits the company: Increased production volumes: This allows meeting the growing demand for LNG in both domestic and foreign markets. Cost reduction: The new equipment lowers gas processing costs, making the product more competitive. Export potential: Increased LNG production opens new markets in Europe and Asia. 2. Infrastructure Development What is being done: The company is investing ...

... increased coal usage in Asia. In countries like India and a significant portion of Southeast Asia, coal-fired generation continues to rise to meet growing electricity demand. China, the largest consumer of coal, is likely to maintain its combustion volumes at last year’s levels or decrease them slightly in 2025 (an expected reduction of less than 1% compared to 2024). Meanwhile, European countries, having filled their gas storages and launched new RES capacities, are scaling back coal-fired generation. After a surge in coal generation during 2022–2023 (when coal temporarily ...

... channels: the EU has established stable supplies of diesel fuel from the Middle East, Asia, and the U.S. to replace lost Russian volumes. As the expensive fuel batches purchased by European importers last winter are consumed and replaced with cheaper ones,... ... the industry—such as the closure of several outdated refineries in Western Europe and the U.S.—pose risks of local supply reductions in the future. However, for now, the summer of 2025 is passing relatively calmly for the oil products market: fuel ...