As the West seeks to impose an effective embargo on sales of Russian crude oil and petroleum products, OilPrice.com is reporting that British customers have found a loophole allowing them to buy cheap petroleum products from the sanctioned country by purchasing them through India.
The EU, G7 nations, and Australia imposed a ban on Russian seaborne crude shipments on December 5th, unless they abide by a $60 per barrel price cap. On February 5th a more muscular ban on almost all imports of Russian petroleum products will take effect.
Among the most aggressive advocates for Europe and Western nations refusing to purchase Russian energy products, England has presented itself as one of the most successful nations when it comes to weaning itself off Russian energy. The UK committed to completely weaning itself off Russian oil by the end of 2022, and had cut imports down to £2 million ($2.45 million) in October.
However OilPrice.com is reporting that as diesel accounts for 18% of the UK’s total demand last year, a number of consumers may have simply replaced direct Russian imports of the product with products produced in refineries which were fed with Russian crude.
The news agency reports that it appears the UK used India as a “back door” to acquire Russian energy products, given the sharp increases in Indian imports of Russian crude, which reached 1.2 million barrels per day in December, hitting a record high. The outlet noted that before last year, Indian imports of Russian crude were negligible, due to the high shipping costs.
The outlet concludes that the high volumes of Russian crude flowing through Indian refineries and being exported, may mean that Britons are filling up with Russian energy when they stop off at the pump.
The outlet noted that the mix of massively discounted Russian crude, combined with the high diesel prices in Europe may be offering Indian refiners “a window of opportunity” which they are exploiting to make massive profits, and they are fueling the Russian economy in the process.
KPLR tracking data shows that in 2022, the Jamnagar refinery on the west coast of India increased its imports of oil and fuel from Russia by four fold between 2021 and 2022. Since the start of 2022, the UK has purchased 10 million barrels of diesel and other refined products from Jamnagar, making it very likely UK drivers are fueling their cars with fuels which ultimately came from Russia.
