In response to the EU ban, Russia has new markets for its oil products.

While exports of Russian oil products to European countries such as France and Belgium have declined in recent months, shipments to African countries, especially North African countries, have increased sharply.

Dầu Nga đến châu Phi tăng mạnh. (Nguồn: Oil Price)

Exports of oil products from Russia to Africa have increased 14-fold in one year. (Source: Oil Price)

Although Russian oil product exports fell slightly after Russia launched a special operation in Ukraine in February 2022, they reached a seven-year high of 1.9 million barrels per day in March 2023.

And while exports of Russian oil products to European countries such as France and Belgium have declined in recent months, shipments to African countries, especially North African countries, have increased sharply.

According to statistics, exports of oil products from Russia to Africa have increased 14 times within a year following a series of diplomatic negotiations between African and Russian officials.

As of February 2022, Russia exported 33,000 barrels of oil products per day to Africa, the majority of which was gasoline.

By March 2023, this figure had risen to 420,000 barrels per day. This was due to a sharp increase in supplies to countries such as Nigeria, Tunisia and Libya in February 2023, when the European Union (EU) imposed an import ban on Russian oil products.

The ban comes after a decision by many Western countries to stop importing Russian oil.

Sanctions have prompted Russia to redirect significant volumes of its oil exports to alternative markets, including Africa. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited seven African countries in 2022 over the course of a month, seeking to strengthen ties and open new markets for Russian oil products.

Besides, India, China and Türkiye are also increasingly becoming important export markets for Russia.

Source