Kazakh Crude Exempt from UK and US Sanctions on Russia

The UK is looking to exempt Kazakh crude from its Russian oil import ban according to Argus - as long as no more than 15% Russian oil has been comingled in the blend.

• The legislative guidance by the UK’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is expected to be completed by July.
• The White House has posted a similar mandate on CPC blend flows.
• It allows UK and US refiners to still access sour crude blends that have been limited since both countries sanctioned Russian crude imports.
• Kazakhstan is dependent on flows traveling through Russia via the CPC pipeline to reach international markets. The country feared they would be unfairly implicated in having their crude flows effectively banned because of the logistics of the pipeline, in a move pulling further crude out of an already tight market.
• It remains to be seen if the EU agree to similar terms as the bloc grapples with trying to even get a Russian oil ban over the line. Many Mediterranean refiners rely on CPC Blend as a baseload feedstock and sourcing alternatives is likely to prove difficult and costly.