Europe is set to ban imports of all Russian petroleum products, including diesel, on February 5, in a move aimed at depriving Moscow of a key revenue source.
The EU imported about 220 million barrels of diesel-type products from Russia last year, according to Vortexa Ltd data compiled by Bloomberg. The fuel is vital to the bloc’s economy, powering cars, trucks, ships, construction and manufacturing equipment, and more.
From February 5, almost all those imports will be banned to punish Moscow for the war in Ukraine. Replacing that much Russian fuel – imagine about 14,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools all brimming with diesel – is a mighty challenge.
Some progress has already been made. In 2021, more than half of all seaborne shipments into the EU and UK came from Russia, which already has a ban in place. Bloomberg said that that proportion had fallen by December last year to about 40 percent, partly thanks to increases from Saudi Arabia and India.
