Russian oil products, bypassing sanctions, continued to flow to the Motor Oil Hellas refinery in Greece. A new route was used to ship the product through an oil storage facility in Turkey, and ownership of the fuel changed.
The American newspaper The Washington Post writes about this.
According to the publication, the oil refinery in Greece that purchases this fuel serves the US Armed Forces. The Pentagon signed new contracts with refineries worth nearly $1 billion last March.
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Since February, more than 1 million barrels of jet fuel from Motor Oil Hellas have also been shipped to government and corporate customers in Italy, France, Spain and the United Kingdom, according to shipping records.
How is Russian oil supplied?
According to experts, the volumes of fuel oil supplied from the terminal in the Turkish city of Dertyol to Motor Oil Hellas, as well as the industry practice of mixing products of different origins during storage, indicate the presence of a large amount of product from Russia in the mixture.
“I don’t see any other possible conclusion other than Russian fuel going to Motor Oil Hellas,” said Robert Auers, an analyst at research firm RBN Energy.
Over the past two years, the Dertjol terminal has received 5.4 million barrels of fuel oil by sea, of which almost all but 1.9 million comes from Russia. Such data is provided by Refinitiv.
Since EU sanctions came into effect in February, Russian shipments to Dertyol have amounted to 2.7 million barrels, or more than 69% of the fuel oil shipped by sea during that period. In addition, since February, this terminal has shipped 7 million barrels of fuel oil, of which 4.2 million barrels were from Motor Oil Hellas. Overall, these supplies accounted for at least 56% of the total fuel oil received by the Greek refinery by sea.
The publication writes that the exact amount of fuel oil, which is of Russian origin, and which the Pentagon purchases, could not be determined. The problem is that the products are purified, making them untraceable.
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How do they comment at the Pentagon?
Pentagon Defense Logistics Agency spokesman Joe Yoswa said the agency is “not aware” that its Greek supplier receives fuel from Russia.
Yoswa said Pentagon contractors, particularly Motor Oil Hellas, “are responsible for enforcing the laws and regulations regarding doing business with Russia and Russian companies,” including the sanctions regime.
Russia's oil export revenues fell in October as global oil prices fell, according to the International Energy Agency. In addition, the United States has imposed sanctions against ships that violate established price restrictions.
