Hoot of the Day: Russian Oil Gets to US Via Sanction Loophole

[searcher]

Western tankers ramp up Russian oil shipments under price cap

 

[Joe King]

From the link above:

Looks like the sanctions applied by the west were never a complete shutout/shutdown measure. They are full of holes.

Because those in charge know that World needs a certain amount of oil, but they gotta talk a good talk, too.

 

[TheRealZed]

and if / when that oil arrives, and if it's got too much sulfur in it to refine through our refineries...that would be the hoot

Russian oil is of high quality, with a low sulfur content, making it relatively easy to refine into various petroleum products. Some of the most famous Russian oil brands include Gazprom Neft, Rosneft, and Lukoil. These companies produce a range of crude oil grades, including light, medium, and heavy, with specific characteristics suited for different refining processes.

 

[TheRealZed]

It is possible to determine the origin of oil by analyzing its unique chemical signature, which can reveal information about the type of rock formations where it was produced and the geographic location. This process is known as oil fingerprinting and is used by oil companies, government agencies, and research institutions to track the source of crude oil and monitor compliance with international oil trade agreements. However, it is important to note that oil fingerprinting is not a foolproof method and results can sometimes be inconclusive.

 

[searcher]

From the link:

The “shadow fleet” of ships that transport Russian oil around the world has expanded to around 600 tankers, according to trading giant Trafigura.

About 400 crude oil vessels, or 20% of the global fleet, have “switched” from mainstream trades to “ostensibly do Russian business,” co-head of oil trading Ben Luckock said in an interview on Bloomberg Television. For oil product tankers, the company sees the level at 200 tankers, or 7% of the world total.

Russia's ‘Shadow Fleet’ of Tankers Swells to 600 Ships, Trafigura Says

By Archie Hunter, Alix Steel and Grant Smith (Bloomberg) — The “shadow fleet” of ships that transport Russian oil around the world has expanded to around 600 tankers, according to trading...

gcaptain.com

 

[searcher]

The EU’s Ban On Russian Diesel Won’t Really Stop Fuel Flows​

By Jack Wittels (Bloomberg) –For decades, a steady stream of ocean tankers has filed back and forth between a small cluster of ports in northwest Europe and the Baltic Sea. Typically, each would bring about 40 million liters of diesel to help keep Europe’s economy humming. Tomorrow, that will be banned — along with almost any other deliveries of Russian fuels to the European Union.

While that had initially caused some alarm, the new rules are designed to be so inherently leaky that it will dull the pain for both sides. The biggest winners will very likely be traders and shipping companies as the fuel appears set to keep flowing, just via more complex, roundabout routes.

More:

The EU’s Ban On Russian Diesel Won’t Really Stop Fuel Flows

By Jack Wittels (Bloomberg) –For decades, a steady stream of ocean tankers has filed back and forth between a small cluster of ports in northwest Europe and the Baltic Sea. Typically,...

gcaptain.com

 

[Newmisty]

Why are all the people running this world congenital idiots?

They are a product of (PIRO).- Psychotic Induced Reverse Osmosis where psychopathy perfects itself through politics.

(The above is an 'on the spot' developed hypothesis and is not known to cause cancer or reproductive harm except to certain varieties of 'millennials' in California and Minnesota. User discretion is advised.)

 

[pmbug]

Sounds like sanctions are starting to bite:

Russia’s budget revenues from oil and gas plunged in January by 46% compared to the same month last year due to the sanctions on Russian oil exports, which led to a slump in the price of Russia’s flagship crude grade.

Russian budget revenues from energy sales – including taxes and customs revenues – plummeted last month to the lowest level since August 2020, according to data from its finance ministry compiled by Reuters.

In January 2023, the price of Russia’s flagship Urals grade averaged 42% lower than in the same month of 2022, as its discount to Brent Crude grew wider following the EU embargo and the G7 price cap, which came into effect on December 5. The average price of Urals in January, at $49.48 per barrel, was 1.7 times lower than in January 2022, when it averaged $85.64 per barrel, Russia’s Finance Ministry said earlier this week.
...
Russia is considering taxing its oil firms based on the price of Brent – instead of Urals – to limit the fallout on the Russian budget revenues due to the widening discount of Urals to Brent, Russian daily Kommersant reported on Friday, quoting sources.

Russia is looking at ways to reduce the steep discount on Urals and to stabilize its oil revenues. At the end of January, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the government to submit within a month proposals to change the methodology for calculating the taxes from oil, Kommersant’s sources said.

The EU oil ban and price cap are costing Russia an estimated $174 million (160 million euros) per day due to the fall in shipment volumes and prices for Russian oil, Finland-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) said in a report last month. The revenue losses are expected to rise to $304 million (280 million euros) per day with additional measures that are being implemented as of February 5, according to CREA.

Russia’s Oil And Gas Revenues Slump 46% Year-Over-Year | OilPrice.com

Russia’s oil and gas revenues plunged by 46% in January compared to a year ago due to sanctions on its exports

oilprice.com

 

[searcher]

Spain has denied entry into Tarragona port to the Maersk Magellan, a Singapore-flagged vessel, due to it transporting oil products originating from a Russian ship, the country’s Transport Ministry said Feb. 10.

Spain denies entry to tanker carrying Russian-origin diesel | Sea and Job

 

[searcher]

MOSCOW, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Russia's seaborne oil product exports fell about 10% in Feb 1-12 from the same period in January due to the European Union's embargo, the lack of available tankers and the closure of ports due to storms, traders said and Refinitiv data showed.

MSN

www.msn.com

 

[pmbug]

The coming months will be critical in figuring out how Russia's economy is holding up in the face of a new suite of sanctions, and for how long it can continue pouring money into its military assault on Ukraine.

Russia's budget deficit hit a record 1.8 trillion Russian rubles ($24.4 million) in January, with spending growing by 58% from the previous year while revenues fell by more than a third.
...
For the month of January as a whole, the average Urals price edged back up to $50 a barrel, and both Granville and Weafer said it would be important to gauge the impact on Urals price and Russian exports as the full impact of the latest round of sanctions becomes clearer.

Sanctioning countries extended bans to bar vessels from carrying Russian-originated petroleum products from Feb. 5, and the International Energy Agency expects Russian exports to plummet as it struggles to find alternative trading partners.

The export price for Russian crude is seen as a central determinant for how quickly Russia's National Wealth Fund will be drawn down ...

Russia's budget deficit has surged. But economists say Moscow won't drain its war chest any time soon

Russia's budget deficit hit a record 1.8 trillion rubles ($24.4 million) in January, with spending growing by 58% from the previous year while revenues fell by more than a third.

www.cnbc.com

 

[searcher]

There’s been a rise in shipping practices used to move Russian crude and oil products that are aimed at deceiving observers, according to a report from maritime consultancy Windward Ltd.

Vessels are using methods such as transferring cargoes from ship-to-ship at sea, manipulating navigation systems to obscure their locations, and hanging around areas where oil smuggling can take place, Windward said. New hubs will emerge for hiding illicit activities as old ones draw more scrutiny, they added.

Western Mediterranean Sea Drug Trafficking Hub Used to Obscure Russian Oil, Report Says

By Elizabeth Low (Bloomberg) — There’s been a rise in shipping practices used to move Russian crude and oil products that are aimed at deceiving observers, according to a report from...

gcaptain.com

 

[searcher]

Russia plans to cut its oil production by 500,000 barrels per day starting in March, or about 5% of total current output, in retaliation to Western price caps and embargoes on its exports of crude oil and refined oil products.

While the one-off cut is unlikely to have a big impact on global oil prices in the longer term, further production cuts could drive up prices at a time China's reopening from COVID-19 restrictions is expected to boost oil demand.

That would undermine the price caps backed by Group of Seven (G7) countries that are intended to ensure Russian oil keeps flowing into the global market and prevent any massive spike in prices when their economies are struggling with high inflation.

More:

Is Russia weaponizing oil after natural gas misfire? – DW – 02/16/2023

Russia has said it will cut its oil output in response to Western embargoes and price caps. Moscow's move doesn't come as a surprise given the pain inflicted by the sanctions on Russia, but what about its real motive?

www.dw.com

 

[searcher]

One of the most discussed, debated questions in shipping these days is the size of the so-called dark or shadow fleet, the vast array of tankers that are travelling the world’s oceans under the radar, trying to avoid sanctions. To existing sanctioned countries such as Venezuela, Iran, and North Korea, a very substantial name has been added over the past year, the world’s largest country, Russia.

Figures banded around in this month have varied massively on the size of the shadow tanker fleet, ranging from around 300 ships to commodity giant Trafigura’s estimate of 600 vessels.

Today Splash can reveal its own detailed investigation into the scale of this growing phenomenon following an extensive, detailed analysis of the global merchant fleet.

More here:

Splash investigation pinpoints the true scale of the shadow tanker fleet - Splash247

One of the most discussed, debated questions in shipping these days is the size of the so-called dark or shadow fleet, the vast array of tankers that are travelling the world’s oceans under the radar, trying to avoid sanctions. To existing sanctioned countries such as Venezuela, Iran, and North...

splash247.com

 

[searcher]

This content was produced in Russia where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine

MOSCOW, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Russia has ramped up its light oil products exports via Mediterranean ship-to-ship (STS) transfers in February after an embargo shut off access to European markets, data from traders and Refinitiv showed.

Russia boosts light oil product exports via STS loadings -traders, data

 

[searcher]

Russia Sold Oil Far Above Price Cap, Researchers Say

By Bloomberg News (Bloomberg) –Russian companies got far more money from selling the country’s oil than previously thought in the weeks that followed the imposition of a price cap on the nation’s exports, a group of academics said. The research weakens the idea that the price limits are crushing...

gcaptain.com

 

[Joe King]

Russia plans to cut its oil production by 500,000 barrels per day starting in March, or about 5% of total current output,

If they were smart, Russia would cut by ten times that much and then only sell the remainder to their own trading partners for about the next six Months, and see what happens.

intended to ensure Russian oil keeps flowing into the global market

Of course. The West has to sound tough about "banning" Russian energy exports, but the truth is that the World has always used as much oil/gas as could be extracted from the Earth. To cut off Russian energy exports in any meaningful way would only hurt the West. Bottom line? We need Russian energy exports just to keep our own house in order.

 

[searcher]

This one is almost a year old. Enjoyable read for me.

From the link:

On a sandy beach in the pretty Suffolk town of Southwold, where holidaymakers and retired second-home owners bask in summer heat while waves lap gently against the shore, most residents are unaware of the trade in Russian oil happening just on the horizon.

This calm patch of sea is one of the few areas around the UK where ship-to-ship transfers of oil are allowed.

At least twice in May, British-crewed vessels sped out from nearby harbours to help transfer Russian oil between vast tankers, an investigation by Global Witness and The Independent has found.

The British boats helping Putin’s Russia avoid oil sanctions

 

[searcher]

One in five VLCCs ‘break bad’ - Splash247

TankerTrackers.com, one of the world’s foremost sources covering illicit movements of oil, has worked out that one in five VLCCs trading today are “up to no good”. The Samir Madani-led platform tracks ships breaking sanctions against Iran, Venezuela and Russia. It has counted 174 VLCCs out of...

splash247.com

 

[searcher]

Russia Finds Plenty of Tonnage for Crude and Refined Product Exports

Russia appears to be having little difficulty finding the tonnage it needs to support its petroleum exports, despite restrictive Western sanctions and...

maritime-executive.com

 

[searcher]

Tanker Giants Sprout From Nowhere To Keep Russian Oil Moving​

March 18, 2023

By Elizabeth Low

Mar 18, 2023 (Bloomberg) –At a downtown office block in Mumbai, packing tape peels off a black door whose handle appears to have been ripped out. A pile of post is strewn on the floor outside. A guy from a neighboring office says the staff moved out a few weeks ago, destination unknown.

Almost 1,200 miles away in Dubai, a small office in a run down industrial estate, offers no clues that it, too, is a small cog in Russia’s vast new petroleum supply chain.

The two locations are listed on an international maritime database as belonging to firms running $2 billion in tanker assets between them. They assembled fleets in under a year that are now delivering millions of barrels of Russian oil across the globe.

More:

Tanker Giants Sprout From Nowhere To Keep Russian Oil Moving

By Elizabeth Low Mar 18, 2023 (Bloomberg) –At a downtown office block in Mumbai, packing tape peels off a black door whose handle appears to have been ripped out. A pile...

gcaptain.com

 

[searcher]

Russia's Urals crude supply to EU via southern Druzhba rises q/q - sources

Russia's piped supply of Urals crude to the European Union via the southern spur of the Druzhba pipeline is set to rise 6% on a daily basis in the first quarter from the three months before, data from industry sources and Reuters calculations showed.

www.reuters.com

 

[Joe King]

Tanker Giants Sprout From Nowhere To Keep Russian Oil flowing.

They kinda have to keep it going.

The World uses every drop of oil produced. There's simply no way to keep Russian oil from being used.

If it was truly being kept off the market, the price would soar. Look at the pricing issues we've had over the past 15 years or so. It's all been driven by a million or less barrels a day production either higher or lower than demand.
So if Russia's approx 10 million barrel a day output is stopped, how could it not send the price to the Moon?


The West just wants to be able to talk a good talk on it, but in the background they make sure to keep that oil coming.

 

[Someone_else]

I think Frank Herbert said, "the oil must flow".

 

[searcher]

but in the background they make sure to keep that oil coming.

"the oil must flow".

The Meaning of Dune's "The Spice Must Flow" Quote

Published in 1965, Frank Herbert’s novel Dune has become one of the most popular and most influential sci-fi works in the history of the genre. The story

fictionhorizon.com

It must..............least we all die.

 

[searcher]

• Six little-known companies based in Hong Kong and Dubai now dominate Russian oil trade.
• Nord Axis, a company that was incorporated just a year ago in Hong Kong, emerged as the biggest buyer, moving 521,000 barrels of Russian crude per day.
• Energy Intelligence: Russia’s crude and condensate production increased 2%, with oil production clocking in at 10.73 million b/d.

Little-Known Traders Now Rule Russian Oil Markets | OilPrice.com

As the world’s largest oil traders continue to shun Russian crude, some smaller, little-known trading companies have but completely taken over the international trade of Russia oil

oilprice.com

 

[andial]

I prefer Russian oil.

 

[searcher]

Russia still relies on Western insurers to cover more than half of the tanker fleet that exports its oil, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, and the country’s energy officials are voicing concerns about the situation.

The Group of Seven and its partners in the European Union have decreed that any shipment of crude using services based in their member countries must be sold below a $60-a-barrel price cap. The measure is designed to curb the Kremlin’s energy-export revenues, limiting its ability to keep funding the invasion of Ukraine.

Russia Relying on Western Insurance for Half of Oil its Shipments

By Bloomberg News (Bloomberg) — Russia still relies on Western insurers to cover more than half of the tanker fleet that exports its oil, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, and...

gcaptain.com

 

[searcher]

Deep Dive Into Russian Oil Tanker Shipments​

April 3, 2023

By Julian Lee (Bloomberg) Russia’s seaborne crude flows are soaring, with no sign that the Kremlin’s threatened output cut is having any impact on the amount available on the international marketplace.

The nation’s shipments surged by 1 million barrels a day to a new high of 4.13 million barrels a day in the seven days to March 31, according to tanker-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. The less-volatile four-week average jumped to the highest since June.

Russia pledged to lower output by 500,000 barrels a day from last month through June in response to a Group of Seven price cap on the nation’s crude sales. On Sunday, it extended the duration of the cut until the end of the year as part of a wider move by the OPEC+ producer group. There’s no evidence from the export figures that the initial cut has been implemented, raising questions about whether a real reduction will be made in the coming months.

More:

Deep Dive Into Russian Oil Tanker Shipments

By Julian Lee (Bloomberg) Russia’s seaborne crude flows are soaring, with no sign that the Kremlin’s threatened output cut is having any impact on the amount available on the international marketplace. The...

gcaptain.com

 

[searcher]

This content was produced in Russia where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine

MOSCOW, April 3 (Reuters) - Russia increased its sea-borne diesel exports by 12% month-on-month in March to 4.5 million tonnes, boosting shipments to other destinations after its products were banned from the EU market, Refinitiv data and Reuters calculations showed.

Russia boosts sea-borne diesel exports by 12% m/m - data, Reuters calculations

This content was produced in Russia where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine

www.reuters.com

 

[searcher]

*Was going to post this in the commodities thread but since it talks about the dark fleet I figured I post it here. Interesting stuff.

Pablo Tanker Explosion | Latest Video | Damage | Dark Fleet Information | Class & Insurance Info​

May 2, 2023


15:13

In this episode, Sal Mercogliano - maritime historian at Campbell University (@campbelledu) and former merchant mariner - provides an update on the explosion on board the Gabon-flagged tanker Pablo off the coast of Malaysia in the South China Sea on May 1, 2023. More data on the Dark Fleet and the issue of lack of clear beneficial owner, classification society or insurance.

- NST Online - Captain believes crewmen are alive but trapped, pleads for immediate rescue https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/20...
- Tanker Trackers - Twitter https://twitter.com/TankerTrackers
- Michelle Wiese Bockmann - Twitter https://twitter.com/Michellewb_/statu...
- Intershipping Services http://www.intershippingservices.com/...
- International Registries - Marshall Islands https://www.register-iri.com/
- Liberian Registry https://www.liscr.com/
- To Rule the Waves: How Control of the World's Oceans Shapes the Fate of the Superpowers https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/sho...
- The Outlaw Sea: A World of Freedom, Chaos, and Crime https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...
- The Outlaw Ocean: Journeys Across the Last Untamed Frontier https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...

 

[searcher]

Russia's natural gas is "stuck" in the Arctic. Now the petrochemical industry moves in​

Big natural gas projects have been built in Yamal over the past decade. The far northern peninsula that stretches into the Arctic Ocean has vast reserves, and thousands of kilometres of pipeline have been built to connect the area with markets in Europe.

But following its full-scale onslaught on Ukraine, sanctions have put a halt to the gas flows.

Russia no longer has a European market for its pipeline gas, and Moscow is grappling with what to do with the abundant energy that now is “stuck” in the Arctic.

More:

Russia's natural gas is "stuck" in the Arctic. Now the petrochemical industry moves in

Chinese partners might take part in a major development of petrochemical plants in the Yamal Peninsula.

thebarentsobserver.com

 

[searcher]

Aging Shadow Fleet, Shipping Russian Oil, Poses Disaster Risk​

The oil tanker Turba normally should have been melted down by now.

The 26-year-old vessel hasn’t had a full inspection since 2017, according to a database dedicated to promoting safe shipping. It also lacks industry standard insurance and sails under the flag of country with a poor standing for the oversight of maritime safety.

But rather than being steered onto a beach in Bangladesh, India or Pakistan for dismantling, the 1997-built tanker is collecting heavy fuel at the Russian port of St. Petersburg.

The aftermath of European Union sanctions on Russia mean that the Turba has been enlisted into a vast shadow fleet carrying Moscow’s oil around the globe. Its continued operation is a stark reminder that Group of Seven sanctions on Moscow carry an environmental risk.

More:

Aging Shadow Fleet, Shipping Russian Oil, Poses Disaster Risk

The oil tanker Turba normally should have been melted down by now. The 26-year-old vessel hasn't had a full inspection since 2017, according to a database

www.insurancejournal.com

 

[Voodoo]

Oh the horror