2023-04-28 15:03:11
Russian oil still supplies Europe with help from other countries.
European Union rules banning any maritime imports of Russian products do not prevent countries like India from buying cheap oil from Moscow, turning it into diesel and other fuels and shipping it back to Europe at a profit.
The Asian country is on track to become the continent’s biggest supplier of refined products this month, while buying record amounts of Russian crude oil at cheap prices, according to data compiled by Bloomberg from analyst firm Kpler.
This situation is a double-edged sword for the EU. On the one hand, the bloc needs alternative sources of diesel now that it has cut direct flows from Russia, once its main supplier. However, it ends up increasing demand for barrels from Moscow and means extra freight costs.
It also means more competition for Europe’s oil refiners, who cannot access cheap Russian oil, and comes amid broader market scrutiny over where the region’s diesel imports are coming from.
Repsol SA CEO Josu Jon Imaz said on Thursday that Russian diesel was entering Europe illegally and urged authorities to crack down on the activity. He was not talking about trade via India, but about diesel flows originating in Russia.
A preliminary investigation into the matter by Spanish authorities found no evidence that Russian diesel was entering the country, a government official said on Friday, adding that an investigation was ongoing.
European imports of refined fuel from India are expected to rise above 360,000 barrels a day, just ahead of those from Saudi Arabia, Kpler data shows.
Russian crude oil arrivals to India are expected to exceed 2 million barrels a day in April, accounting for nearly 44% of the country’s total oil imports, according to Kpler data.
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