Contrary to Western expectations, Moscow is surprisingly fast in finding new markets for its oil and especially its oil products. Washington and Brussels hoped that with a fairly easy way around oil sanctions, it would be more difficult to overcome restrictions on gasoline and diesel fuel. However, this product has also found its grateful customers.
The EU embargo on Russian petroleum products, which came into force on February 5, has resulted in the diversion of Russian diesel fuel not only to Asia, Africa and the Middle East, but increasingly to Latin America. In March, Russia exported more than 580,000 tonnes of diesel fuel to South America and Latin America, Reuters reports citing data from Refinitiv Eikon. Nearly 440,000 tonnes went to the Brazilian market. Truly disparate volumes: last year, only 74,000 tonnes were shipped to this region, and in 2023, in just three months, 663,000 tonnes, notes Reuters. Turkey is also buying Russian diesel that would normally go to Europe, with flows to Turkey hitting a seven-year high, according to Bloomberg.
In the Middle East, Saudi Arabia is also importing increased volumes of Russian diesel, while also shipping many similar products to Europe. In March, traders in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia stocked up on Russian diesel fuel, taking advantage of the low price to build up stocks, while boosting exports to Europe and Africa themselves. In mid-March, these countries imported around 500,000 tonnes of Russian diesel fuel, up from almost zero a year ago, Reuters reports, citing data from Refinitiv, Kpler and Vortexa.
Aggregated export figures to all these regions (taking into account new sales markets) clearly demonstrate that not only has the West failed to stifle exports of raw materials from the Russian Federation, but that it even, to some extent, helped cross the ocean. . So far, the replacement of Europe by Latin America is going quite well.
In this aspect, it is even rightly feared that due to the reduction in production, processing may also decrease, which will affect exports, which are growing strongly. At the same time, among regular customers, such as India, the demand also does not stop, but increases. For example, India’s fuel requirements in March increased by 5% from the previous year, reaching 20.5 million tons. Gasoline and diesel demand increased in March compared to March last year and February this year. New sales markets are appropriating part of the refining capacity.
Photos used: pixabay.com
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