Saudi Arabia doubles Russian fuel oil imports over past three months
Saudi Arabia doubles Russian fuel oil imports over past three months
Saudi Arabia astronomically increased its Russian fuel oil imports in the second quarter of 2022, despite the invasion of Ukraine and attempts by Western allies to isolate Moscow from global markets.
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Saudi Arabia and Russia are de facto leaders of OPEC [source: Getty]
the world's largest oil exporter, more than doubled the amount of Russian it imported in the second quarter to feed power stations to meet summer cooling demand and free up the kingdom’s own crude for export, data showed and traders said.
Russia has been selling fuel at discounted prices after international sanctions over its left it with fewer buyers. Moscow calls the war in Ukraine a "special military operation".
The increased sales of fuel oil, used in power generation, to Saudi Arabia show the challenge that US faces as his administration seeks to isolate Russia and cut its energy export revenues.
While many countries have banned or discouraged purchases from Russia, China, India and several African and Middle Eastern nations have increased imports.
Biden is due to , when he is expected to seek an increase in oil supply to global markets from the kingdom to help lower oil prices that have aggravated inflation worldwide.
There is little spare capacity for Saudi and others to increase production in the short term. Saudi Arabia has also maintained its cooperation with Russia in the alliance of global producers known as OPEC+. The two are the de facto leaders of respectively and non-OPEC producers in that group.
Data obtained by Reuters through Refinitiv Eikon ship tracking showed Saudi Arabia imported 647,000 tonnes (48,000 barrels per day) of fuel oil from Russia via Russian and Estonian ports in April-June this year. That was up from 320,000 tonnes in the same period a year ago.
For the full year 2021, Saudi Arabia imported 1.05 million tonnes of Russian fuel oil.
Saudi Arabian andministries declined to comment on the increased imports.
Saudi Arabia has for several years imported Russian fuel oil, which can reduce its need to refine crude for products and cut the amount of oil it needs to burn for power, leaving it with more unrefined crude to sell on international markets at higher prices.
The kingdom turns to oil to meet power needs, which typically peak as demand for cooling rises with summer temperatures. Some Saudi cities are far from natural gas fields that could provide cleaner fuel for power generation.
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