Refiners Preem, Neste shy away from Russian crude

Refiners Preem, Neste shy away from Russian crude

London, 28 February (Argus) — Northwest European refiners Neste and Preem are retreating from purchases of Russian crude, as strengthening international sanctions on Moscow raise buy-side concerns about supply reliability.

Finland's Neste said it has mostly replaced Russian crude with others, because of "the current situation and the uncertainty in the market." Swedish refiner Preem said it has "paused all incoming orders of Russian crude oil, pending sanctions."

Neste operates the 197,000 b/d Porvoo refinery, and Preem runs the 220,000 b/d Lysekil and the 106,000 b/d Gothenburg plants. The latter said Russian crude accounts for around 7pc of its total purchases, and it estimates that North Sea crude accounts for around 70pc. It said a cargo of Russian crude arrived at the port that serves Lysekil plant as of 25 February.