WSJ: North Africa increased imports of oil products from Russia

The countries of North Africa have sharply increased the volume of imports of diesel fuel and other oil products from Russia against the backdrop of reduced purchases by Europe. The European Union (EU) is concerned about the current situation, reports The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

Morocco purchased 2 million barrels of diesel fuel from Russia in January 2023, according to data cited by the WSJ. At the same time, for the whole of 2021, the country purchased about 600 thousand barrels of Russian diesel.

Tunisia almost did not buy oil products in 2021. At the same time, in January 2023, he purchased 2.8 million barrels of oil products from the Russian Federation, including gasoline, diesel fuel, gas oil. WSJ notes that a sharp increase in purchases of Russian fuel is observed in Egypt, Libya and Algeria.

According to analysts, Tunisia and Morocco have simultaneously increased the export of petroleum products, in connection with which the EU fears that Russian fuel cannot be excluded from the world economy. Analysts point out that North Africa is importing much more fuel than it needs.

Since February 5, 2023, the EU embargo on Russian oil products has been in effect. In February, European countries also approved price ceiling for oil products from Russia at $100 per barrel.

In 2021, more than half of all offshore diesel supplies to the EU and the UK came from Russia. But by December 2022, imports of Russian diesel by EU countries fell by about 40% – they were replaced by supplies from Saudi Arabia and India.

Lusine Balasyan