Turkish scheme of selling rebrended Russian fuel to the EU disclosed
Due to a loophole in Western sanctions, Turkey is changing labeling of Russian oil, passing it off as its own, and sending it to the European Union, which has earned Russia $3,26 billion, Politico reported on May 15.
A study by a newspaper and think tanks has revealed that Russian oil is making its way into the European Union (EU) in large volumes through Turkey, and this is being done legally. The study points out that a loophole in the EU sanctions allows for the import of "mixed" fuel into the EU if it is labeled as non-Russian. In the 12 months following the imposition of the ban on Russian oil and petroleum products in February 2023, this scheme has brought Moscow up to €3 billion solely through three Turkish ports - Ceyhan, Marmara-Ereglisi, and Mersin.
The authors of the study observed that around the same time EU imposed the ban on energy purchases, Turkey started gradually increasing its fuel imports from Russia while also increasing exports to the EU. Over the past year, these figures have almost equalized. Between February 2023 and February 2024, Turkey's fuel purchases from Russia increased by 105% compared to the previous 12 months. During the same period, Turkish exports to the EU saw a 107% jump.
Article notes that geographical location of various Turkish ports, combined with import-export data, strongly suggests that significant volumes of Russian fuel were being repackaged and shipped on. For instance, the Ceyhan port in the southeast, which has limited road and rail connections to refineries, received about 22 million barrels of fuel between February 2023 and 2024, 92% of which came from Russia - three times more than the year before. Moreover, 85% of the fuel exports from Ceyhan during the same period were delivered to the EU. The Marmara-Ereglisi and Mersin ports also exhibit similar annual increases in Russian imports, doubling and tripling, respectively, alongside an increase in exports to the EU.
According to EU regulations, cargoes containing Russian fuel mixed with products from other countries may be subject to sanctions depending on the share of the Russian component. However, in practice, experts explain that only the document called the "certificate of origin" is checked, which indicates where the cargo comes from. Importing fuel with Russian documents is illegal, but Turkey appears to reissue old certificates with new Turkish ones.
In related news, it was reported that at the end of 2022, oil production in Russia had recovered to around 10.9 million barrels after falling to 10.5 million barrels in April. Furthermore, Russian companies drilled the highest number of wells in their oil fields in over a decade in 2022. However, due to Western restrictions, these companies cannot sell what they produce as the Russian oil industry faces challenges in storing oil in large volumes. In response to sanctions against Russian oil, the Russian Federation announced plans in February 2023 to cut oil production by 500,000 barrels per day. Despite these challenges, Russia achieved record oil production rates for the second consecutive year in 2023, which has been viewed by Western media as evidence of the country's resistance to these sanctions.
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