But according to new research, between the ban on direct imports coming into force in 2022 and the end of 2025, the U.K. has nonetheless imported £4 billion of jet fuel and other oil products made at refineries in India and Turkey, which run partially on Russian crude.
The analysis, by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), estimated that £1.6 billion worth of the products imported from these refineries would have been made with Russian oil.
India remains the second-largest international buyer of Russian crude oil after China, while Turkey is also a major importer. Both process much of the oil in refineries, producing oil products such as jet fuel, which are then sold on to other countries. This so-called “refining loophole” is one of the major weaknesses in Western efforts to reduce Russia’s fossil fuel income, CREA said.
With Putin’s war against Ukraine approaching its fifth year, ministers pledged in October to close the loophole, announcing a ban on oil products made with Russian crude in third countries. Responding to CREA’s new findings, a government spokesperson said they “expect” the ban to be introduced this spring.
But with a similar European Union ban coming into force today, the U.K. government has “dragged its feet,” said Isaac Levi, an analyst at CREA.
“Roughly one in six jet fuel shipments entering the U.K. comes from refineries running on Russian crude, and we’re buying it for a measly two percent discount,” said Levi. “The U.K. doesn’t need this fuel, but it is helping bankroll Putin’s war machine.