How a lot oil does the UK import from Russia?

As Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine turns into more and more vicious, the punitive financial sanctions imposed on Russia by Western governments are persevering with to chunk, inflicting the ruble to plummet in worth towards the US greenback and Moscow’s central financial institution to lift its major inflation price and introduce capital controls.

Overseas companies and types are in the meantime reconsidering their industrial relationships with the nation, with McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Starbucks, Hermes, Chanel, Netflix, Spotify and Prada all severing ties in opposition to the faltering tried conquest.

Ukraine has in the meantime revealed a listing of different worldwide corporations nonetheless working in Russia within the hope of shaming them into following swimsuit.

Ending the West’s power dependence on Mr Putin’s oil and fuel exports guarantees to be extra advanced, nevertheless, with Europe already hit by inflation, the rising price of residing and spiralling fuel costs earlier than the battle started and market instability driving up the worth of petrol and diesel on the forecourt during the last two weeks.

Figures from information agency Experian Catalist confirmed the common price of a litre of petrol at UK filling stations was as much as 159.6p on Wednesday, up from 158.2p on Tuesday.

The typical price of a litre of diesel in the meantime reached a brand new excessive of 167.4p on Wednesday, up from 165.2p on Tuesday.

In opposition to that backdrop, enterprise secretary Kwasi Kwarteng nonetheless introduced on Tuesday that the UK would finish its import of Russian oil by the top of the 12 months as an additional punishment, saying the federal government was “constructing on our current sanctions which might be already crippling Putin’s conflict machine” and deliberate to work with the US, the EU and different buying and selling companions to seek out various sources of hydrocarbons.

Britain wouldn’t achieve this with rapid impact, he stated, as a way to give provide chains and supporting companies sufficient time to regulate to what’s going to symbolize a drastic transition.

The UK imported £4 billion of Russian oil in 2021 – £3 billion of refined oil and £1 billion of crude oil – in response to Workplace for Nationwide Statistics information.

“Russian imports account for 8 per cent of whole UK oil demand, however the UK can also be a major producer of each crude oil and petroleum merchandise, along with imports from a various vary of dependable suppliers past Russia together with the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, and USA,” Downing Avenue stated in an announcement saying the choice.

Norway, Canada, Sweden and Belgium are additionally key exporters to Britain.

Downing Avenue’s determine comes from the Digest of United Kingdom Power Statistics 2020, which additionally reveals that Russia accounts for 18 per cent of our diesel, 5 per cent of jet gasoline and one per cent of fuel oil comparable to pink diesel, which is used for equipment and off-road automobiles.

The federal government added in its assertion that Russian pure fuel at present accounts for 4 per cent of UK imports and stated that: “Ministers are additionally exploring choices to cut back this additional.”

Russia is the world’s third-biggest oil producer behind the US and Saudi Arabia and ordinarily exports round 5m barrels of crude oil per day, greater than 5 per cent of the worldwide whole, however suppliers in addition to nations at the moment are more and more cautious of coping with the nation in gentle of the Ukraine assault, for sensible in addition to ethical causes.

Merchants concern that additional instability creating after they’ve positioned an order might stop their oil from being delivered and are additionally involved about issues surrounding transactions involving Russian banks below sanctions after they have been excluded from the Swift cost system used to finish funds between lenders.

Russian crude is at present being provided at huge reductions on world markets however few European consumers are biting.

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