Crude quality playing key role in oil flow reshuffle

The war in Ukraine has rerouted oil market flows as European buyers look both close to home and far afield for replacements for Russian barrels

The oil market has shown its flexibility and adaptability to changing crude flows since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine one year ago. Europe had to not only  find new sources of supply but also try to replace medium sour Russian barrels with relevant substitutes with similar attributes. Crude quality has been a crucial if often understated challenge for refiners as key grades have been rerouted. Europe was heavily reliant on Russian oil when Moscow began its war in Ukraine. Before the invasion, Russia supplied almost a fifth of Europe’s seaborne crude oil imports, with this figure having dropped to around a tenth by time the EU had imposed sanctions in December 2022. “When the West decided to r