Crude loading at the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiisk was halted Thursday due to a storm, which national pipeline operator Transneft expects to prevent loading until Sunday at the earliest.
"Currently three tankers are waiting in the port, one of 150,000 mt and the other two of 80,000 mt," a spokesman for Transneft said.
The storm is expected to last until Sunday at least, and doubts remain over whether loading will be able to resume on Monday, he said.
If storm conditions continue and loading is not possible by the end of the month, the three tankers will be added to the November schedule.
"Storm conditions also delayed loading at the Far Eastern port of Kozmino Thursday, but the weather has improved and the October schedule will be met," he added.
Loading at all other Russian ports is continuing as planned, the spokesman said.
