EU Ban on Fuel Made From Russian Crude Kicks in
The EU ban on petroleum products derived from Russian crude came into effect Wednesday, potentially impacting imports of middle distillates from Turkey, India and China.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that the EU and the U.K. imported some 290,000 barrels/day of oil products made from Russian crude in 2025, of which 80% was processed in India and 15% in Turkey.
Now, companies will have to provide evidence that the crude oil used in the production of imported petroleum products such as diesel, jet fuel or fuel oil was not of Russian origin. This doesn’t include the fuel produced at MOL’s 165,000 b/d Danube and 124,000 b/d Bratislava refineries, as both Hungary and Slovakia were granted an exemption from the embargo due to being landlocked countries.
If a third-country refinery processes both Russian and non-Russian feedstocks, then the EU requires evidence proving either that Russian crude was segregated or that no Russian crude was processed over the 60 days prior to the bill of lading date of the cargo.
Moreover, in observance of EU sanctions, the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) no longer accepts deliveries of diesel made from Russian crude to settle European Low Sulfur Gasoil (LSG) futures.
Market analysts have suggested that, with the global crude oil market currently well supplied, refiners should be able to easily switch to non-Russian feedstocks if they want to continue selling products into the EU.
According to the IEA, Indian refiners reduced their crude oil imports from Russia by 620,000 b/d in December, shifting to supplies from the Middle East. The 1.4 million b/d Jamnagar complex cut imports from Russia by half, and the 500,000 b/d Mangalore refinery completely halted deliveries from Russia.
Turkish refiners are acting similarly, with the 240,000 b/d STAR refinery increasing imports of Iraqi crude to 50% in the first half of January, and the 238,000 b/d Izmir refinery having received its latest delivery of Russian crude on Nov. 26.
“Europe should see limited tightness linked to the ban, at least in the short-term. Major exporters in India and Turkey are restructuring operations and attempting to limit the loss of market share in Europe,” Strautmann said.
On Tuesday, OPIS assessed the Northwest Europe (NWE) diesel and jet fuel cracks versus Brent at $24.89/bbl and $27.90/bbl, respectively. This compares with averages of $23.96/bbl and $23.17/bbl throughout 2025.
Reporting by Jaime Llinares Taboada, jllinares@opisnet.com