Turkey’s largest refiner, Turkiye Petrol Rafinerileri, will halt from February 27 purchases of any oil and products from Russia that do not comply with the G7 price cap, an anonymous source with knowledge of the plans told Bloomberg on Thursday.

Turkiye Petrol Rafinerileri, or Tupras, has become the latest customer of Russian oil that is eager to avoid violating the latest U.S. sanctions on Russia’s oil trade and exports.

The Biden Administration on January 10 imposed the most severe sanctions on Russia’s oil yet, designating two major Russian oil companies, Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas, as well as 183 vessels, dozens of oil traders, oilfield service providers, insurance companies, and energy officials.

Many of the vessels, specialized tankers, and shuttle tankers transporting Russia’s oil from the Arctic and Far East Pacific fields and production clusters to Asia have now been sanctioned.

But the price cap mechanism set by the G7 and the EU says that Russian crude shipments to third countries can use Western insurance and financing if cargoes are sold at or below the $60-a-barrel ceiling. The measure took effect at the end of 2022 when the EU imposed an embargo on imports of Russian crude oil.

Turkey’s Tupras now becomes the latest customer to signal pa reference to stick to trades with the price cap in place, after China and India – Russia’s biggest oil buyers – are already shunning dealings with any entities blacklisted by the U.S.

India will continue to buy Russian oil if it is sold below the $60 per barrel price cap and delivered on non-sanctioned tankers and without any involvement of sanctioned companies or individuals, Indian officials have said.

Indian refiners are reshuffling and reconfiguring the oil traders, insurers, and vessel owners with which they work in a bid to continue receiving the cheaper Russian oil without risking violating the U.S. sanctions, anonymous executives directly involved in the trade told Bloomberg earlier this week.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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