UK Softens New Restrictions on Russia-Linked Fuel Imports

Rosneft — Refined product exports from India can often be traced back to a Russian crude oil terminal, like Ust-Luga (Gazprom)

The UK is critically dependent upon imported supplies for jet fuel, and the shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz has badly crimped the availability of middle distillates on the global market. In response to the operational needs of airlines and other fuel consumers, the British government is slowing down the implementation of a planned ban on refined-product imports derived from Russian oil, keeping the door open for jet fuel imports from Turkey and India.

The planned ban on foreign products from Russian oil was announced in October, along with a raft of other sanctions measures targeting Russian energy companies. Taken in isolation, it was an important but ultimately symbolic goal: a 2024 estimate by Global Witness suggested that the UK received only five million barrels of fuel that could be traced back to foreign-refined Russian crude - almost all of it jet fuel. Even at current ultra-high prices, these cargoes are worth less than a billion dollars per year, a minute percentage of Russian energy revenues.

The UK government still plans to institute the ban, but not all at once. Instead, it will be phased in over time with an eye to avoiding disruption in the domestic fuel market. To carry out the policy, the government has issued a number of limited licenses for importation of Russian oil-derived fuel products, according to the BBC.

Even with these quasi-sanctioned fuel sources, the UK faces a potential fuel crisis going into the peak summer travel season. Former British Airways chief Willie Walsh told the BBC last week that rising global jet fuel prices would mean rising fares, and that the increase in travel costs for Britons would be "inevitable" - potentially, in a worst-case scenario, to be accompanied by supply shortages.

"UK airlines are clear that they are not currently seeing a shortage of jet or road fuel," a government spokesperson told the Guardian last week. "We are working closely with industry to keep flights operating and help airlines plan ahead. . . . Our contingency plans include all options for fuel prioritization if needed."