Oil products from Russia are set to be banned in Europe as of early next month, in a move that is already causing massive shifts in global diesel trading, Ednews reports citing Daily Sabah.
Buyers are rushing to fill European oil storage tanks with Russian diesel, with flows this month on track to hit a one-year high.
The European Union banned seaborne Russian crude imports from Dec. 5 and will ban Russian oil products from Feb. 5, in a move aimed at depriving Moscow of revenue.
The Group of Seven nations (G-7), Australia and the 27 European Union countries also implemented a price cap on Russian crude on Dec. 5.
This allowed non-EU countries to continue importing seaborne Russian crude oil, but it will prohibit the shipping, insurance and reinsurance companies from handling cargoes of Russian crude around the globe, unless it is sold for less than $60.
Russian Urals crude prices fell in December. Russian crude was sold to countries such as India well below the $60 per barrel price cap, according to trading sources, despite Russia saying it would not abide by the cap even if it has to cut production.
Vessels carrying Russian crude loaded before Dec. 5 and unloaded at their destination before Jan. 19 will not be subject to the price cap, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.
The G-7 including the United States, Australia and the EU, are designing a similar price cap mechanism for Russia's refined fuels such as diesel, kerosene and fuel oil, from Feb. 5.
They will be on products trading at a premium to crude oil as well as those trading at a discount, according to a G-7 official.
But experts have struggled to see how the price cap will work for refined fuels. Capping oil product prices is more complicated than setting a price limit on crude, because there are many oil products and their price often depends on where they are bought, rather than where they are produced.