“Toxic” Russian oil was discovered in the USA: they continue to import

Experts explained why Washington is violating its own sanctions restrictions

Last October, the United States imported 37,000 barrels of crude oil of Russian origin, and in November purchased almost 10,000 more. These indicators, recorded in the US foreign trade statistics database, are of a semi-detective nature and formally look like a sensation. However, the numbers are so microscopic that there is no need to talk about any full-scale, systematic resumption of supplies of Russian raw materials to America. Looks like it’s just an episode.

In October, one barrel of Russian oil cost the Americans $74 (and the entire volume – $2.7 million), in November – $76 ($749.5 thousand), which is significantly higher than the “price ceiling” set by the G7 countries at $60.

We must proceed from the fact that back in March 2022, the United States unilaterally banned the import of oil, gas and other energy resources from the Russian Federation for its business due to the events in Ukraine. However, the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued several licenses that made the shipments possible, at least in theory. In practice, nothing like this happened in the next year and a half. It turns out that the ice has broken, a hole has been made in the sanctions regime?

“You shouldn’t rush to conclusions,” says Igor Yushkov, an expert at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation. – According to ultra-strict sanctions, American companies are prohibited from purchasing oil, petroleum products, gas, and coal from us from April 1, 2022. Criminal liability is provided for their deliberate violation. Therefore, there is no special reason to take risks for the sake of mythical gain. I think the reasons are much more banal. Probably, oil was transferred from some tanker (or several) from the shadow fleet of the Russian Federation to another ship(s), where it was mixed with raw materials of non-Russian origin, then the owner of the cargo shipment could change several times. And ultimately, when this cargo arrived at one of the US ports, American regulators found out that Russian oil was present in the mixture.”

Judging by the tiny volumes, Yushkov argues, we are talking about Russian raw materials unknowingly delivered to the United States, found in the mixture already at the place of arrival and recorded in official documents as imports from Russia. In essence, this is nothing more than smuggling. By the way, as MK’s interlocutor recalls, a couple of times a year the Americans seize tankers at sea with Iranian oil, which they then sell at auction and record as imports from the Islamic Republic. There is nothing like this in relation to Russia: our raw materials, unlike Iranian ones, the States allow anyone to buy, on the condition that this will be done within the price ceiling of $60 per barrel.

The head of the analytical department of AMarkets, Artem Deev, has a fundamentally different assessment of what is happening. First, he notes, the United States is seeking to stabilize the domestic fuel market. Since they are actively “throwing” their own produced oil into the world market (it is necessary to reduce the hype and fend off the pricing policy of the OPEC+ countries, and strategic storage facilities over the past year at least twice approached historical lows), Washington seeks to support its refineries.

Secondly, neither the price ceiling nor other restrictions on Russian oil have yet produced the desired effect. And it is possible that, while purchasing it for its own needs, the United States is in the process trying to track logistics and supply patterns in order to take more effective measures in the future. A banal financial factor can also play an important role, Deev notes. Russian oil is cheaper than standard grades, which means it is simply profitable to buy it. Even despite the fact that the United States remains the locomotive of Western sanctions policy.

“Theoretically, such imports are possible under separate licenses from the American Ministry of Finance, but much in current history cannot yet be clearly explained,” says Nikita Maslennikov, a leading expert at the Center for Political Technologies. – The volume of supplies to the USA in October and November 2023 is, of course, microscopic. They may be associated with “tails” of previously assumed contractual obligations that American legal entities are required to comply with in order to avoid legal complications and economic losses. It is possible that the American authorities simply met specific importers halfway.”