Trading Russian Oil Will Become Harder From Mid-May, Vitol Says
- Vitol says there will be a ‘different reality’ after May 15
- Oil jumped after Europe moved closer to banning Russian crude
Oil storage tanks at a refinery, operated by Rosneft Oil Co., in Tuapse, Russia
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Commodity firms will find it much harder to buy and sell Russian oil from the middle of this month, according to the world’s biggest independent crude trader, as Europe tightens sanctions on Moscow for invading Ukraine.
Russia’s exports of crude and oil products have probably dropped by around 1 million barrels a day from 7.5 million before the attack in late February, Mike Muller, head of Asia at Vitol Group, said Sunday on a podcast produced by Dubai-based Gulf Intelligence. They could fall further after May 15, he said.