Saudi Arabia has doubled the amount of oil it imports from Russia, which it uses to feed power plants, to meet the growing demand for coolers in the kingdom’s summer.
Since the start of the Russian war on Ukraine, Moscow has been selling oil at discounted prices, following being affected by the international sanctions that were imposed on it.
Refinitiv Eikon tracking data show that Saudi Arabia imported 647,000 tons of oil, equivalent to regarding 48 thousand barrels per day of Russian oil, which it received through Russian and Estonian ports during the months of April to June, which is double the amount that it had imported from Russian oil during same period in 2021.
Saudi Arabia imported more than one million tons of Russian oil during 2021.
Traders said Saudi Arabia also imported more Russian oil through the Fujairah port in the United Arab Emirates.
Data indicate that the port of Fujairah has received more than 1.1 million tons of Russian oil since the beginning of the year.
The Archyde.com report indicated that this matter will increase the challenge facing the administration of US President Joe Biden, which seeks to isolate Russia and reduce its oil revenues.
While some countries have banned or discouraged oil purchases from Russia, China, India and some countries in the Middle East have increased their imports of Russian oil.
Biden is due to visit Saudi Arabia this week, and he expects he will push to increase oil supplies to global markets from the kingdom to help bring down oil prices that have exacerbated inflation around the world.
There are limited quantities that Saudi Arabia can increase in the short term, but Riyadh confirms that it wants to maintain its commitments within the framework of the “OPEC Plus” alliance.
The energy ministries of Saudi Arabia or Russia did not respond to requests for comment to Archyde.com.
Saudi Arabia has been importing Russian oil for years, which reduces its need to refine the crude that it needs to generate energy in the kingdom, allowing it to save more oil to sell in international markets.
Saudi Arabia needs to burn regarding 600,000 barrels per day in the summer months, and 300,000 barrels of oil per day in the winter months to provide energy.
Saudi Arabia expanded its refining capacity to 3.6 million barrels per day in 2017.