Refined oil products have also been the subject of EU sanctions against Russia and the latest package entering into effect has had a significant effect on the market. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Gibson said that “in the summer of last year, the EU published its 18th sanctions package, announcing a ban on imports of all products refined from Russian crude, which finally came into effect this week. Initially, the legislation appeared to suggest a blanket ban on imports from refineries which process Russian crude oil. However, further clarification under the 19th sanctions package confirmed that if a refinery can fully segregate the refining of Russian crude from non-Russian sources, then import from the non-Russian supplied part of the refinery can be allowed. Otherwise, if Russian crude oil cannot be segregated and processed separately by the refinery, but evidence is provided by the third party that no Russian crude has been received or processed in the ‘production line’ over the past 60 days prior to the bill of lading date of the cargo at issue, import into the EU is allowed. Further, net exporters of crude, such as the major Middle East producers, are exempt from the EU restrictions”.
According to Gibson, “with the 60-day cutoff in mind, refineries which cannot separate crude intake would have to have changed their import patterns before November 21st to continue exporting refined products to the EU after the ban came into place. So far, CPP flows into the EU27 have seen little change since November 21st, with flows from relevant refiners in India and Turkey declining only slightly. Only a minor share of EU CPP imports is derived from Russian crude. In 2025, according to the IEA, 12% of CPP flows into EU27 originated from Russian crude, around 300kbd, with 80% coming from India and 15% from Turkey”.
Meanwhile, “on the crude side, notable changes have taken place. Imports of Russian crude into India since November 21st have fallen by around 400kbd compared to the imports earlier in 2025. Major Indian refiners have altered their intake patterns, with the sanctioned Vadinar refinery taking around 90kbd more in the last 60 days compared to the rest of 2025, and refineries which export notable volumes to the EU27 countries sharply decreasing their intake. However, many other factors have affected Indian imports in this period, with US sanctions, tariffs, and energy deals all playing a role. Indian imports of crude from other sources have more than replaced Russian volumes, with cargoes from especially the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America increasing, mostly benefitting VLCCs. In Turkey, refineries have chosen different approaches, with some reducing their imports of Russian crude, whilst others have eliminated them entirely”, Gibson said.
Source: Gibson Shipbrokers
The shipbroker added that “more Russian barrels have ended up as floating storage in recent months, contributing to crude on water reaching the highest levels since 2020. Chinese imports of Russian crude have risen in the same period, and China remains the importer of last resort. However, as Russian crude pricing has declined, some Indian refiners have signalled their intention to increase their intake of unsanctioned volumes. The share of mainstream, price cap compliant Russian crude exports from Western terminals has also recently risen, with Suezmaxes still playing a major role here”.
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“Overall, the EU ban of products refined from Russian crude seems to have been absorbed by the market, with few notable changes on the clean side. Many different factors have affected crude volumes, though refiners appear to be taking care to separate Russian crude intake to protect export options to the EU”, Gibson concluded.
Nikos Roussanoglou, Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide