Russian Oil Sales Rise in Several Countries Despite Sanctions

A recent report quoted by Reuters indicate that Western sanctions on Russian crude have failed to undermine the Eurasian country's economy; on the contrary, several states such as “China, India and nations in Africa and West Asia” have raised imports from Russia.

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The source revealed that Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, doubled the amount of Russian crude it imported in the second quarter of this year to supply power plants and build up a surplus.

According to vessel monitoring data from Refinitiv Eikon, the Arab kingdom has imported 647 000 tons (48 000 barrels per day) of fuel oil from Russia through its ports between April and June this 2022. That is considered an increase of 320 000 tons compared to the same period last year.

Since the beginning of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine, the U.S. and European Union countries have imposed sanctions against various Russian sectors in order to stifle its economy. 

Now, buyers from the U.S. and several EU countries are avoiding Russian energy supplies or have promised to reduce them in the coming months. Europe is in dire straits to become independent from Russia, which supplies more than 40% of the gas it needs, an issue that gets further complicated by the upcoming winter a few months away.    

In spite of everything, Russia has returned to first place among world crude exporters after 19 months, overtaking Saudi Arabia. Just this week, Brazil assured that it plans to buy as much diesel as possible from Russia, “a strategic partner” of the South American giant.