MOSCOW, May 4. /TASS/. Russia has reduced pipeline oil deliveries to Europe by more than two-thirds, a volume only partially offset by maritime exports, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday.

"As for individual journalist statements about export growth based on monitoring sea shipments, they fail to take into account the fact that pipeline supplies to the EU were reduced by more than two-thirds, which was only partially offset by sea exports," he told reporters.

Earlier, Bloomberg reported, citing its own calculations based on ship movement data, that Russia increased maritime oil exports by 680,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 4.08 mln bpd over the week from March 22 to March 28. At the same time, according to Bloomberg, Russian oil exports by sea declined by 12,000 bpd on average in the four weeks ending April 28 to 3.45 mln bpd. According to the report, sea exports from Russia show no signs of a sustained decline in oil supplies, although Russia has cut output by 500,000 bpd since March compared to the February average.