FSUOGM: Unknown intermediaries continue their takeover of Russian oil trade

Russian oil trading has changed its nature substantially over the past year, with Western embargoes, price caps and other sanctions resulting in the emergence of numerous little-known trading companies handling significant quantities of the country’s oil exports, despite having no prior record in the oil industry.

One such example is the journey of the Liberian-flagged oil tanker, Leopard I, which set sail from Russia's port of Ust-Luga in May, carrying 100,000 tonnes of Urals crude on behalf of a relatively unknown Hong Kong-based trading company, Reuters reported this week. Even before reaching its intended destination in India, the cargo changed hands, with Guron Trading, another Hong Kong-based outfit, becoming the new owner.

If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping the former Soviet Union’s oil and gas sector then please click here for NewsBase’s FSU Oil and Gas Monitor.