Since the European Union imposed sanctions on Russian refined oil exports on February 5, Morocco has become an alternative market for these products, as the Kingdom’s imports of Russian petroleum, especially gasoline, have reached record levels in recent weeks, according to data revealed by the “Kpler” analytics company.
Data collected by Al-Monitor, a Middle East analysis website, showed that Morocco imported most of the Russian gas fuel destined for North African countries in March of this year, with an amount of 108,000 barrels per day.
Bloomberg reports that Russia’s alternative “importers include Morocco, Brazil, Tunisia and even Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter.”
The kingdom, along with Turkey and other countries “have stepped up purchases of Russian diesel, whose shipments reached a record high in the first 19 days of March, about 1.5 million barrels a day,” the same source said.
“Russian producers are confident that they can sell their volumes to foreign buyers. The discounts they are offering are big enough and there are new markets for the fuel,” commented an analyst to Bloomberg.
The Wall Street Journal had already looked at alternative markets for Russian diesel, saying that “North African countries are snapping up Russian oil products shunned by the West.”
“Whether for the current government or its predecessors, the import share of Russian diesel has always been around 9%. In 2020, the import share of Russian diesel was 9%. It fell to 5% in 2021 before increasing again to be located in 2022 at 9%, “said Government spokesman Mustapha Baitas at a press briefing on March 2.
“We are indeed seeing higher flows of Russian oil products to North African countries,” oil market analyst at Energy Aspects Livia Gallarati told Al-Monitor.
“Russian oil imports into North Africa have increased sharply since the end of last year, growing from an average of 20,000 barrels per day in the first half of last year to about 200,000 barrels per day in the first quarter of 2023,” the analyst added.
Gallarati confirmed that “Morocco and Tunisia were the most active importers in the region,” noting at the same time that West African countries have also been importing more of these Russian products since the start of the war.
Minister of Economy and Finance Nadia Fattah Alaoui had previously denied reports indicating that the Kingdom had banned imports of Russian gas and oil.
Alaoui confirmed in an answer to a parliamentary question that Russian gas imports accounted for 5% of Moroccan gas in 2021, before rising to 9% in 2022, in line with Baitas’ statements earlier this month.
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