Bloomberg: Trafigura helps sell Russian diesel to Latin America

Singapore trader Trafigura Group helps to sell Russian diesel fuel to Latin American countries, reports Bloomberg with reference to sources. They allege that the company has chartered a Marlin Aventurine ship to deliver 262,000 barrels of fuel to Ecuador’s state oil company Petroecuador.

According to Bloomberg, Marlin Aventurine is transporting diesel fuel that can be used to generate electricity, refuel ships and as a diluent for fuel oil. The ship was loaded in the port of Taman and arrived in Ecuador last week.

Petroecuador, which routinely buys fuel from US refineries, said its main concern is to tackle the growing shortage of petroleum products in Ecuador. The company noted that Ecuador did not impose restrictions on the purchase of hydrocarbons of Russian origin.

Trafigura said the company “does not comment on individual shipments” and continues to comply with European sanctions. On March 2, Trafigura’s press service stated that they “unequivocally” condemn the conduct of a special operation in Ukraine, in connection with which the company froze all investments in Russia. At the same time, Trafigura announced the search for “options” to exit Vostok Oil. In July Trafigura announced the release from the Vostok Oil project.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting with the head of the Federal Tax Service Daniil Yegorov declaredthat Russia’s oil and gas and non-oil and gas revenues are growing, despite the sanctions of Western countries against the country. According to the head of state, this indicates the stabilization of economic indicators “at this point in time.” At the same time, Putin stressed that Russia “understands the risks” and sees them in the medium term.

After the start of the special operation in Ukraine, Western countries imposed large-scale sanctions against Russia. In Europe, it was noted that the purpose of the sanctions, among other things, is to weaken the Russian economy. In particular, the United States imposed a ban on the supply of oil, gas and other energy resources from Russia. Canada also banned the import of petroleum products from Russia. The decision to abandon Russian energy carriers was also made in Australia.

In addition, the UK authorities announced plans to gradually stop importing Russian oil by the end of 2022, and then stop buying liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia as soon as possible. In early June, the EU imposed a partial embargo on Russian oil, and on August 10, an embargo on the purchase of coal from Russia began to operate.