UK announces it will stop importing Russian oil by the end of the year

The United Kingdom will stop importing Russian oil and oil derivatives by the end of 2022, the Minister of Business and Energy said on Tuesday, in line with a similar announcement made by United Statesdue to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“This transition will give the market, companies and supply chains more than enough time to substitute Russian imports, which represent 8% of world demand. United Kingdom”, Minister Kwasi Kwarteng tweeted.

Minutes later, US President Joe Biden ordered an embargo on imports of Russian oil and gas in United States.

The British decision does not concern Russian natural gas, which represents 4% of consumption in the United Kingdom. Despite everything, Kwarteng said he was “exploring options to end” those purchases as well.

This decision threatens to aggravate the cost of living crisis in the Kingdom Unitedwhere gasoline and diesel prices have already soared on market turmoil following the invasion ordered by Russia, a major producer of essential hydrocarbons in Europe.

But Kwarteng said that most of Britain’s crude oil imports come from “reliable partners” such as the United States, the Netherlands and the Persian Gulf countries.

“We will work with them this year to secure more supplies,” he said.

“The market has already begun to ostracize Russian oil, which currently finds almost 70% no buyer,” added the minister, announcing the creation of a government working group to help companies find alternatives to oil. Russian oil.

British longshoremen at a facility in northwest England on Saturday refused to unload Russian oil from a tanker, calling on the government to close a “loophole” in sanctions that allow deliveries from foreign-flagged ships.