As Europe’s distillates crunch rears its head again, imports from the Middle East have been edging up, hitting their highest level in at least five years in September. Yet despite the positive momentum, these gains are far from sufficient to fill the looming void created by February’s embargo on Russian products flows to the continent.
European imports of Russian gasoil/diesel have fallen sharply of late, but seaborne volumes were still 622,000 b/d in September according to data intelligence firm Kpler. The EU embargo on Russian seaborne products imports is due to come into force from 5 February, and Europe is struggling to find sufficient alternative supplies. Strikes at French refineries are only adding to the chaos. (CONTINUED - 1062 WORDS)
