European countries in the south of the region and in the Mediterranean are actively conducting covert purchases of Russian oil. This is reported by Bloomberg with reference to data on the movement of tankers.
In the week ending August 5, crude oil shipments from Russian export terminals in the Baltic and Black Seas to Italian ports hit a seven-week high in the week ending August 5, according to the agency.
It is reported that Greece bought Russian oil for the first time since February of this year, while Romania and Bulgaria increased their purchases of hydrocarbons from Russia to 255,000 barrels per day. In addition to European countries, purchases also increased Turkey – to the highest values in six weeks.
According to Bloomberg estimates, the total supply of Russian crude oil to European consumers is currently estimated at about 1.38 million barrels per day, which is the highest value in the last 5 weeks. Prior to the start of the special operation in Ukraine, the volume of supplies from Russia was about 1.85 million barrels per day.
The growth in demand for Russian oil by a number of EU countries indicates a high risk of violating the anti-Russian sanctions regime, the agency concluded.
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