(Original title: Russia’s crude oil exports did not decrease but increased by nearly 90% to Asia in the first week of the EU ban)
News from the Financial Associated Press on December 13 (edited by Xia Junxiong)A week after the European Union’s ban on Russian oil came into effect, Russia has almost ceased to be a crude oil supplier to Europe, but Russia’s seaborne crude oil exports have not decreased, but have increased slightly.
The European Union officially banned the import of Russian crude oil last Monday (December 5), and will ban the import of Russian petroleum products from February 5 next year.
Russia supplied about half of Russia’s crude oil to Europe at the start of the year, but after the EU ban came into force, seaborne shipments of Russian crude to the EU have stopped, except for a small amount of crude destined for Bulgaria.
Oil shunned by Europe has turned to Asia, with a fleet of tankers sailing around the continent and taking cargo through the Suez Canal to countries such as India. Oil shipments on the route surged to more than 3 million barrels per day in the week ended Dec. 9, accounting for 89% of all crude exported from Russian ports that week, the data showed.
Russian crude oil exports to Europe hit record lows this year, while shipments to Asia hit record highs.
Along with the EU ban, there is also a price ceiling mechanism for Russian oil. The European Union, the Group of Seven (G7) and Australia have imposed a cap of $60 a barrel on Russian crude prices. Companies in the EU will be banned from insuring, financing or transporting Russian oil once sales prices exceed $60 a barrel.
Russia has yet to fight back against the West’s price-fixing measures. The country has previously warned that if the West insists on implementing Russian oil price caps, Russia will stop oil production. However, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said in recent days that this measure is irrelevant.
Russia’s main crude oil is now trading well below $60 a barrel, a price ceiling that is less of a concern for suppliers and buyers.
In the first week after the EU ban came into effect, Russia’s seaborne crude oil exports increased instead of decreasing. Seaborne crude exports from Russia rose by 468,000 bpd to 3.45 million bpd in the week to Dec. 9, while the less volatile four-week average also rose.