UK still buying Russian oil but from Third Parties

By Rhod Mackenzie

The UK government has been accused of “helping Russia pay for its war on Ukraine” by continuing to import record amounts of refined oil from countries that are processing Russian fossil fuels.
According to UK Government data analysed by the environmental news site Desmog shows that imports of refined oil from India, China and Turkey amounted to £2.2bn in 2023, the same record amount as the previous year, and up from £434.2m in 2021.

Russia is the largest crude oil supplier to India and China, while Turkey has become one of the biggest importers of Russian oil since the Kremlin launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

In response to the 2022 invasion, allies of Ukraine pledged to divest from Russian oil and gas. The UK officially banned the import of Russian oil products from 5 December 2022. However, a loophole in the legislation has allowed Russian oil to continue to flow into the UK.

The trade ban on Russian oil products has been circumvented by allowing the import of oil products that have been refined in another country. This allows the oil to be sold to allied countries for processing before being exported to the UK.
Global Witness has called this a "laundering" process that imakes a mockery of the so called ban.

The value of refined oil exported from India to the UK has risen significantly since the ban on Russia’s oil took place 2022 . In 2021, the UK imported £402.2 million worth of refined oil from India, which rose to £1.82 billion in 2022 and stood at £1.5 billion in 2023.
Imports of refined oil from China have also increased significantly since 2021. In 2022, the value of these imports was £395.1m, up from £30.2m in 2021. In 2023, the value of these imports was £663.9m, and no doubt will continue to increase. The value of refined oil imports from Turkey has increased from £1.8m in 2021 to £60.3m in 2023.

Lela Stanley, a senior investigator at Global Witness, commented: “Millions of barrels of fuel made from Russian oil continue to be imported into the UK. Last year alone, the profit on this trade was worth over £100m to the Kremlin.” It is clear that until the government closes this loophole, Britain is helping Russia pay for its war on Ukraine.

She says “The good news is that we can fix this. The UK should act now to ban the import of fuels made from Russian oil and demonstrate its support for Ukraine is genuine.”
Now I do wish her good luck with trying to replace fuel supplies from China,India and Turkey because of the global demand,plus limited supplies available and Russia being one of the world's largest suppliers of fossil fuels to the market thet are no alternatives to buying fuel from countries supplied by Russian

Global Witness has estimated that throughout 2023, approximately 5.2 million barrels of refined petroleum products produced from Russian crude oil were imported to the UK, with jet fuel accounting for the majority of the imports (4.6 million barrels). It has been estimated that Russian-linked fuel has been used in one in 20 UK flights.

UK government records show that direct oil imports from Russia fell from £1.5bn in the first quarter of 2022 to zero the year after. This led to a surge in fossil fuel imports from various producers. The UK spent £19.3 billion on oil and gas imports from Algeria, Bahrain, Kuwait, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in the year to March 2023, representing a 60% increase on the previous year.
In addition to procuring fossil fuels from petrostates, the UK and the EU have been purchasing refined Russian oil through intermediaries in India, China and Turkey.

Global Witness has revealed that the EU imported 130 million barrels of fuel from refineries processing Russian crude oil in 2023. The campaign group estimated that these purchases would have contributed approximately €1.1 billion (£940 million) to the Russian government in tax revenues.

Russia has become China’s largest crude oil supplier, with the volume of trade increasing by 24% in 2023 compared with the previous year.

China and India's oil and gas purchases have helped the Russian economy, which continues to show robust growth unnlike those who sanctioned it.

India has been forthright in its purchases of Russian oil. In November, India’s Foreign Minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, stated that the country should be commended for its role in stabilising the oil market by purchasing and selling Russian oil. "As a result, we have been able to effectively manage global inflation. "People should be expressing their gratitude," he said.

Russia is India’s leading oil supplier, accounting for 40% of its oil imports. The country imported an average of 1.76 million barrels of Russian oil per day from April to September 2023, representing a more than doubling of the previous year's figure.

Furthermore, Turkey has been accused of disguising Russian oil and exporting it to Europe. US senators have even warned that oil supplied by Turkey’s Dörtyol plant may have ended up in American Navy warships. Turkey has become the third largest recipient of Russian crude oil, after India and China.
A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero stated, "In light of the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the weaponisation of energy, we have taken immediate steps to end all imports of Russian fossil fuels. This includes a ban on oil and oil products, which came into force in December 2022. In addition to providing proof that goods are not of Russian origin, importers must now include the country of last despatch to ensure that oil from Russia is not being diverted through other countries." Since the ban came into effect, there has been no import of Russian oil and oil products into the UK. So its all in the phrasing according to the UK Government oil that goes to India or China and is refined is no longer Russian but Indian and paying a higher price is worth it so we can virtue signal about how we are sticking it to Vladimir Putin.