ExxonMobil denies shipping Russian oil to Britain amid sanctions
Oil giant ExxonMobil has denied shipping thousands of barrels of Russian oil to Britain in a fresh controversy after eyebrows were raised at recent shipments to its factory in light of sanctions on the Eastern European nation.
The firm claims that contrary to reports claiming it mixed small portions of the Russian CPC blend as tanker tracking data revealed, it was only oil shipped from Kazakhstan. According to Telegraph, the oil is piped from Kazakhstan to a Russian port on the Black Sea via the Caspian pipeline system. These products are not subject to US sanctions as long as they are mainly Kazakh in origin but concerns have been raised on the integrity of Exxon’s latest shipments. Ukraine, which is currently in a war with Russia over its territories, has criticised the ongoing use of any Russian blend of crude oil, stating that it empowers Russia and undermines efforts to end the war.
Exxon was quoted as saying: “Since the invasion, there have been no deliveries of crude with a certificate of origin issued in Russia to our refinery at Fawley – and none are scheduled. No ExxonMobil equity crude that is transported via the Caspian Pipeline en-route to Europe is from Russia. Our deliveries through the Caspian Pipeline are certified Kazakh crude and not subject to sanctions currently.” The company added it supports “the internationally coordinated efforts to bring Russia’s unprovoked attack to an end, and [is] complying with sanctions”.
