US and EU find a ’roundabout’ to buy Russian oil

The Wall Street Journal reports that Europe is buying a “Latvian mix” and traders America conceal the origin of the fuel.

According to data from The Wall Street Journal, in the US states of New York and New Jersey, despite the ban on Russian energy imports, oil tankers are said to still arrive here carrying fuel produced from scratch. Russian raw materials. Ships enter through the Suez Canal and the Atlantic Ocean with products from refineries in India, which has become a major buyer of Russian oil and gas.

Europe has also found a way to get fuel from Russia to avoid its own sanctions. According to information from Bloomberg, countries EU bought the so-called “Latvia mix”, which consisted of approximately 50% Russian oil.

The particular beneficiary in this situation is India – since February, India has purchased more than 62.5 million barrels of Russian oil, three times more than in the same period last year. At the same time, since the beginning of spring, the fuel supply from India to Europe increased by 30% and to the US by 43%. Buying oil from Russia at a 20% discount, New Delhi makes quite a bit of oil supplying Brussels and Washington.

In the current situation Russia has not lost anything – oil needs to be sold so as not to have to reduce production. In addition, in the face of soaring oil prices, Moscow’s oil export revenue has increased by one-and-a-half times.

“Oil prices is now so high that Russia can allow itself both preferential discounts and avoidance of export sanctions. In addition, prices will continue to increase. The first is due to a serious shortage of tankers. Where can the West buy oil now: Latin America, Africa or the Middle East? But oil from these areas is only exported by sea, stored in specialized vessels. Now, the price of chartering has increased by 50%, which is a record level in the last decade,” – independent industry expert Leonid Khazanov told Sputnik.

In the view of some experts, supplies from India may also be in jeopardy as the West imposes sanctions against Russian crude oil products. However, tracing “Russian traces” in fuel will be very complicated and difficult, according to Khazanov.

On March 23, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the application of a payment mechanism for gas purchases in ruble to EU countries and countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia. The Russian president signed the corresponding decree and made it clear that if “unfriendly” countries do not pay in rubles from April 1, Russia will consider this as non-performance of the contract and cut off the gas.