The European Union has reduced its seaborne imports of crude oil from Russia, but just ahead of the embargo effective December 5, the EU was still importing Russian crude and even raised its imports of Russian diesel by sea, ahead of the product import ban in February.
Oil flows and global oil trade routes have changed materially in the past months as Russia pivots to Asia while Europe seeks to import more crude and products from producers other than Russia.
Although the EU embargo and the EU-G7 price cap on Russian crude oil at $60 per barrel didn’t immediately roil the oil market – with traders concerned about a possible demand hit from slowing economies – uncertainty is growing over how the bans on Russian imports will affect supply balances over the next few months.
One thing is certain: the EU needs around 1 million barrels per day (bpd) of Russian products – diesel and naphtha – replaced by February.
Oilprice