A double whammy of icy conditions in the oil fields in the Russian Far East and the major non-OPEC producer’s latest promise to cut production could lead to a decline in Sokol and Sakhalin Blend crude exports in the first quarter, market sources said Monday. Heading into the second half of the March trading cycle, clarity over the loading dates for light sweet Far East Russian grades was still lacking and market participants continued to await the release of full loading details for the month. The general expectation, however, was that exports of the Far East Russian grades for Q1 may drop from the previous quarter as production and logistics are hampered by extreme cold winter conditions, traders said. “Sokol’s final [March-loading] program will only be [confirmed by] next Friday … it’s much later than usual,” said a source with direct knowledge of the light sweet crude’s monthly exports, […]