According to a report by Sputnik Globe-News, the US has defied its sanctions and imported Russian crude worth nearly $3.5 million in October and November.
Despite imposing sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, the United States received Russian oil worth $2.7 million and $749,500 last October and November, respectively, a report by Russian state-owned Sputnik Globe news has stated.
The US purchased 36,800 barrels of Russian oil in October and 9,900 barrels in November of last year, according to the newspaper, which cited US Customs data. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Treasury Department, which is in charge of enforcing sanctions, provided particular licenses that allowed for these imports.
Washington has not yet responded to the report’s assertions.
According to research conducted by The New York Times, Western companies suffered losses of more than $100 billion after leaving Russia.
In addition to enacting penalties against Russian people, organizations, and industries, the US banned the import of oil, gas, and other energy resources from Russia in March 2022 in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
According to the study, Washington and its European allies set a “price cap” of $60 per barrel for Russian oil in 2022, but the US ended up paying far more for it.
A barrel of Russian crude cost $74 in October and $76 in November.
In reaction to Russia’s invasion and annexation of Crimea, the US, EU, Australia, and other G7 nations organized a 2022 campaign that included a price ceiling to reduce Moscow’s revenue from oil exports. Transportation, insurance, and financial services for Russian oil sold above the $60 per barrel cap could not be provided by G7 companies. varying petroleum products had varying caps; for example, diesel was capped at $100 per barrel and discounted fuel oil at $45 per barrel.
Not first-off incident
The discovery that Russian crude is making its way into American markets is not new.
The US military’s supply lines were found to be obtaining prohibited Russian oil, according to a November 2018 Washington Post story. This was mainly because Motor Oil Hellas, a supplier located in Greece, had been receiving and refining Russian crude.
Based on shipping data, the research determined that the Greek refinery’s fuel source was swapped with Russian oil. Before it arrived in Greece, this crude oil from Moscow was initially transported to the Turkiye storage station Dortyol. Motor Oil Hellas stated that it had refined the fuel and delivered it to the US military because it was no longer identified as Russian.
Based on data from the commerce ministry, India has boosted its imports of Russian crude since 2022. From January to September of last year, the country imported about 69.06 million metric tons of Russian oil, or 1.85 million barrels per day (bpd).
But its oil imports from Moscow have decreased during the last few months.
According to the global energy trade information portal Kpler, New Delhi purchased 1.45 million barrels of Russian oil per day last month, the lowest amount since January of last year and a decrease of about 16 percent from November of the previous year.
