Refined Russian oil still ends up in UK through loophole – BBC

Millions of barrels of petrol made from Russian oil are still being imported to the UK despite the anti-Russian sanctions.

Source: BBC, with reference to two separate studies, reported by European Pravda

Details: The UK is one of many Western countries that have banned imports of oil and oil products originating in Russia in an attempt to reduce the amount of revenue Moscow can receive from fossil fuels.

But two separate reports obtained by the BBC suggest that refining rules are allowing products made from Russian crude oil to enter the UK.

The Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) said that this "refinery loophole" means that countries such as India and China, which have not imposed sanctions on the Kremlin, can legally import Russian crude and refine it into petroleum products such as jet fuel and diesel.

These states then export those products to the UK or European Union countries. 

"The issue with this loophole is that it increases the demand for Russian crude and enables higher sales in terms of volume and pushing up their price as well, which increases the funds sent to the Kremlin's war chest," said Isaac Levi, head of CREA's Europe-Russia policy and energy analysis.

In a separate research paper, Global Witness estimated that around 5.2 million barrels of petroleum products made from Russian crude oil were imported into the UK in 2023.

The majority of the imported fuel – 4.6 million barrels – was jet fuel, which, according to the group's researchers, was used in one in 20 flights in the UK.

Exclusive data provided by CREA to the BBC indicates that during the first 12 months of the ban on Russian oil, starting from December 2022, £569 million worth of petroleum products imported by the UK were derived from Russian oil.

Both reports claim that the so-called loophole has indirectly provided the Kremlin with more than £100 million in tax revenues.

These reports also say that the bulk of the imports came mainly from three refineries in India – Jamnagar, Vadinar and New Mangalore – and from nine others in several countries, including China.

Most of the estimates by CREA and Global Witness were based on analyses of oil supply data from Kpler, while pricing data was based on Eurostat and other sources.

Both CREA and Global Witness stated that both studies were based on assumptions and acknowledged the problems and limitations of analysing such trade.

Data from the International Energy Agency shows that Indian imports of Russian oil have increased since the outbreak of the full-scale war in Ukraine.

Background:

• London will call on European countries to stop importing Russian liquefied natural gas due to fears that it could end up in the UK’s energy system.
• The UK announced its intention to ban Russian oil in March 2022, immediately after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.

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