Russia’s ESPO Blend crude value plunges as buyers vanish, freight rates surge

Far East Russia’s ESPO Blend crude values plunged to 17-month lows as Russian oil trade froze following the Jan. 10 sanctions on the country’s energy sector while shipowners demanded increasingly lofty premiums to send cargoes to China. Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed front-month ESPO Blend at a $9/b discount to Platts Dubai ...