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Rabat – Russia is set to boost its diesel exports this month despite the EU’s embargo on Russian energy products.
The European Union was historically Russia’s largest client. However, since the start of the Ukraine war in February 2021, the West retaliated by imposing a set of sanctions including energy products.
According to a report from Reuters, Russia is now working to reroute its energy supplies, as increases supplies to Turkiye and Morocco in a bid to adapt to the EU embargo, price cap, and lack of tankers.
Russia’s energy products will be fully embargoed starting Sunday, and the G7 – a group of wealthy countries – is also working to price cap Russian fuel – put a limit on how high prices can increase.
Despite these restrictions, Russia’s exports of low-sulfur diesel and gas oil are predicted to grow in February by 5%, reaching 4.3 million tonnes, the Reuters report indicates.
Aside from the EU embargo, adverse weather is set to impact Russian diesel shipments. “Refined products shipments could be hit by stormy weather in Black Sea ports of Novorossiysk and Tuapse,” a trader told Reuters.
Embargoing other countries has been historically the default measure of government seeking to put pressure on other governments. However, history shows that embargoes in the energy sector only push countries to reroute their supplies and spark a major rise in much-needed energy products.
Since the start of the Russian invasion, energy prices reached record-high levels with oil barrels exceeding $100 (MAD 1000) in March of the same year. The energy security threat prompted many experts to predict that the EU could be heading towards a new recession that would send a ripple effect through other economies, especially emerging markets.
Read Also: Russia Increases Diesel Supplies to Morocco Ahead of EU Embargo
