Turkey becomes a circuitous route to export Russian oil to the European Union, report says
Russia is making less money from its fossil fuel exports, but Turkey is becoming a circuitous route for exporting Russian oil to the European Union (EU), a ” fault “ in sanctions, warns the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air, in a report released Wednesday.
According to the document, Russia collected 21 billion euros from its fossil fuel exports in October, down 7% from September and the lowest since the start of the invasion of Ukraine. Revenues from all products were down, except liquefied natural gas. Revenues from exports to the EU fell by 14% to 7.5 billion.
The EU has decided on a gradual embargo on its imports of petroleum and petroleum products, with a few exceptions. It has also already put an end to its coal purchases, but Russian gas, on which it is very dependent, is not currently concerned. The authors, whose work is to be presented at COP27, warn, however: “A new route for Russian oil to the EU is emerging via Turkey, where an increasing amount of Russian crude is being refined. »
Turkey has indeed increased its imports of crude from Russia since the invasion of Ukraine. And Turkey’s petroleum product exports to European and American ports jumped 85% in September-October compared to the July-August period, the report details. “As the EU will ban imports of crude from Russia on December 5, this loophole could become important”underlines the CREA.