Abu Dhabi crude is on its way to Europe for the first time in two years as the European Union looks for alternatives to Russian oil. This will divert some Abu Dhabi crude from Asia, but India has already been refraining from higher-priced Saudi and UAE crude and taking advantage of highly discounted Russian crude.
According to Reuters, France’s Total Energies has “provisionally chartered a tanker” to load Abu Dhabi crude heading for Europe in early May, citing shipping sources. In the first week of May, 1 million barrels of Murban crude, one of three Abu Dhabi grades (Murban, Das and Upper Zakum), will be loaded provisionally and shipped to the United Kingdom.
The eruption of a fire on Monday at oil storage facilities in Bryansk, near Russia’s border with Ukraine, has made supplies even more dangerous. The depot sits dangerously close to the Druzhba pipeline, which transports Russian crude to Europe, and it’s unknown whether the Transneft-operated pipeline has been harmed. The Druzhba pipeline transports approximately one-fifth of Europe’s Russian oil imports.