MOSCOW, February 15. /TASS/. Russian oil exports rose by 400,000 barrels per day in January 2023 compared with December 2022 to 8.2 mln barrels per day, while export revenues grew by $0.4 bln to $13 bln, according to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) February report published on Wednesday.

Crude oil exports from Russia increased by nearly 300,000 barrels per day in the reporting period month-on-month, "despite a further 450 kb/d decline in shipments to the EU," the agency said. Exports of petroleum products remained at the December level of 3.1 mln barrels per day. Meanwhile, Russia’s fiscal revenues from oil operations fell by 48% last month year-on-year to $4.2 bln (or to 310 bln rubles) over the Urals crude oil discount, while export revenues dropped by 36% year-on-year despite month-on-month growth.

Russian oil production in January was only 160,000 barrels per day lower than prior to the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine, the IEA said, adding though that crude output excluding gas condensate went down slightly compared to December - by 40,000 barrels per day to 9.77 mln barrels per day.

The IEA’s experts also suggest that Russia’s decision to cut output in March by 500,000 barrels per day "may be an attempt to shore up oil prices," as the price of Urals oil in January averaged $49.48 per barrel versus $82 per barrel for North Sea Dated.