Oil traders said to brace for EU’s Russian May 15 sanction deadline

摘要

MAJOR global commodity trading houses are planning to reduce crude oil and oil products from Russia's state-controlled oil companies as early as May 15 to comply with the deadline of the European Union sanctions on Russia, Reuters reported citing unnamed sources. While the EU did not follow the US in imposing an oil imports embargo on Russia, the wording of the EU sanctions exempts oil purchases from state-controlled Rosneft or Gazpromneft only if "strictly necessary". Reportedly, the traders are playing it safe and are planning to significantly cut purchases from Rosneft to comply with the ambiguous sanctions language, sources told Reuters.