The US plans to oblige shippers of Russian-origin oil to disclose more information about relevant agreements with Russia.
What is known about the strengthening of control over compliance with restrictions on the sale of oil from Russia
As one of the US officials said in a commentary to the newspaper, a significant portion of Russian oil can be sold outside the control of the G7 countries.
Thus, in the summer and autumn of last year, Russia sold oil at prices higher than the $60 per barrel limit set by the G7 countries.
One of the channels for trading Russian oil was the Trade Use Coalition, which refuses to comply with Western sanctions.
The shadow fleet of tankers created by the Kremlin has become the second way of large-scale export of Russian oil.
According to Western officials, in addition to targeted sanctions, they insist on "cost itemisation", when a Russian oil buyer provides Western insurance companies and shippers with documents that the trade was carried out within the limits.
What is known about the strengthening of control over sanctions against oil from Russia by the EU
According to representatives of the European Council, the EU countries will intensify monitoring and data exchange on tankers in order to identify vessels that transfer oil from ship to ship, concealing its Russian origin.
The EU is said to be introducing stricter compliance rules to stop schemes that circumvent sanctions by manipulating AIC data.
In addition, the enhanced information exchange mechanism will make it possible to better identify vessels and business entities that engage in deceptive practices, such as ship-to-ship transshipment, to disguise the origin or destination of cargo during the transport of Russian oil and oil products.
The Council also decided to introduce rules for notifying the sale of tankers to any third country to make their sale and export more transparent, in particular in the case of used tankers that could be used to circumvent the ban on imports of Russian oil or oil products and the G7 price cap.
In addition, Bulgaria announced its intention to ban the refining of oil of Russian origin.
With this decision, Bulgaria has terminated its exemption from the EU ban on Russian oil imports ahead of schedule. The ban was imposed by the European Commission in 2022 due to a specific geographical location. Under current legislation, the exemption is due to be cancelled on 1 October 2024.
It is reported that the National Customs Agency of Bulgaria has to take an inventory of warehouses and check fuel and crude oil stocks until 31 December 2023. Fuel that cannot be sold on the country's market for ethical reasons may be exported in accordance with the procedure established by the EU regulation.
The MPs also supported the abolition of the trade tax on imports and transit of Russian natural gas until the EU legislation establishes provisions on the origin of natural gas.
