Europe replaces Russian diesel with supplies from the Middle East and America

The EU succeeds in replacing diesel shipments from Russia, which was the bloc’s largest external supplier ever, before the seaborne import ban began in February.

The success comes as a relief to governments across the continent, after Russia often accounted for more than half of all shipments delivered to the EU and UK, and the failure to find alternatives threatened the availability of fuels used for everything from industry, shipping and road transport.

In contrast, supplies from other countries jumped. Total supplies of diesel and gasoil – fuels very similar to diesel – are expected to rise to a four-month high of about 1.25 million barrels per day in May, according to data compiled by Bloomberg from shipping analytics firm Vortexa.