MOSCOW  - Russia's seaborne exports of fuel oil and vacuum gasoil (VGO) fell by about 6% ​month-on-month to 3.2 million ⁠metric tons in May, as Ukrainian drone strikes on infrastructure ‌curtailed output and shipments, data from traders and LSEG showed.

Saudi Arabia remained ​a key destination for fuel oil and VGO as high summer temperatures boosted ​air-conditioning demand, ​but shipments there were down 17% from April to 1.23 million tons, Reuters calculations based on the data showed.

Increased export ⁠volumes in recent months were driven by disruptions linked to the Iran war, which reshaped flows and lifted demand for crude oil, as well as a temporary waiver on U.S. sanctions on Russian ​oil products, ‌traders said.

Saudi Arabia ⁠is expected ⁠to burn more imported fuel oil for power generation this summer due to ​a loss of natural gas supply from oilfields ‌that have been shut after the ⁠Iran war curbed its oil exports, analysts said.

Since the European Union's full embargo on Russian oil products took effect in February 2023, the Middle East and Asia have become the main outlets for Russia's fuel oil and VGO.

Russian fuel exports to Singapore and Malaysia, major bunkering and storage hubs, fell 39% month on month in May to around 0.4 million tons, LSEG data ‌showed.

Meanwhile, nearly 140,000 tons of VGO and fuel ⁠oil loaded at Russian ports last month were ​destined for transfers near Port Said in Egypt, with the final destination unclear.

Exports to India, once among Russia's largest fuel oil markets, fell ​28% to ‌around 120,000 tons, shipping data showed.

All shipping ⁠data cited is based on ​cargo departure dates.

(Reporting by Reuters Editing by Alexander Smith)