Scarcer and pricier, KEBCO flows fail to make a big splash

In the early days of the Russia-Ukraine war, Kazakh export producers created the KEBCO grade, the last remnant of Urals in Europe. Disassociating Kazakh-origin barrels from Urals was a smart move as differentials of Urals were plummeting back then, regardless of whether the oil was produced in Russia or Kazakhstan. At the same time, KEBCO remains intrinsically linked to Urals, being blended in the Samara hub as the Russian flows are, effectively maintaining the same quality.