Imports of Russian crude oil to Finland may stop in July
FLOW Russia’s crude oil imports to Finland have slowed from an average of six tankers to one tanker a week since Russia launched its attack on Ukraine 24. reports Helsingin sanomat newspaper.
The Finnish partly state-owned oil company, which has sourced about two-thirds of its crude oil from Russia, announced four days after the attack began that it would replace mainly Russian crude oil with other grades of crude oil.
Company reported earlier this month that it has received one of the last remaining oil cargoes from Russia in the port of Kilpilahti in Porvoo, where it operates Finland’s only crude oil refinery. It says about 85 percent of Russia’s crude oil has been replaced with other grades under existing supply contracts and technical capabilities.
It also stressed that it had not purchased any Russian crude oil on the spot market since the start of the war and had stopped concluding new supply contracts for crude oil or fossil raw materials produced in Russia. Its Russian crude oil supply contracts expire in July and its other raw material supply contracts by the end of December.
“We believe substitute grades of crude oil can be found on the world market,” the company said on April 6th.
Neste is also one of the largest users of Russian natural gas in Finland.
Although crude oil imports have declined significantly, other petroleum products may be more difficult to replace.
“Imports of crude oil from Russia have declined since March, but imports of other petroleum products continue to some extent,” Olli-Pekka PenttiläHead of Customs Statistics, stated To Helsingin Sanomat 13.4. “It may be harder to find land to replace other petroleum products.”
The newspaper stressed that oil and natural gas in particular have been critical sources of revenue for Russia, accounting for about a third of state tax revenue last year and up to half in some years.
Russia is currently benefiting from rising energy prices – especially when oil prices reach a 14-year high. Bloomberg Economics calculated At the beginning of the month, the country will earn more than $ 320 billion in energy exports in 2022, an increase of more than a third from 2021.
The European Union has announced that it will suspend imports of coal but not oil or natural gas from Russia. Although a group of member states led by Germany has succeeded in blocking attempts to impose broad-based energy sanctions, reports suggest the bloc may seek to ban oil imports from Russia.
New York Times on Thursday wrote The EU is “reluctantly” to impose a phasing-out ban on Russian petroleum products, which is expected to take place at the earliest after the second round of the French presidential election.
Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland Pekka Haavisto (green) reported earlier this week he expects the union to find a way to add oil to its sanctions against Russia.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT