Russia's oil tankers, loaded up with crude that no one wants to be seen buying, are going dark.
Here's the deal: Since the war in Ukraine began, oil traders around the world have implemented a de facto embargo on Russian oil – meaning, even though there are no formal sanctions against it, the industry is saying, mmm thanks but no thanks.
But at the same time, energy prices are spiking in the face of high demand and crimped supply. Russian crude is trading roughly $30 cheaper than Brent crude, the world benchmark – a heckuva deal if you can get past the whole "tacit support of a brutal authoritarian state" issue.
It seems there are some buyers who are opting for the bargain crude. As my colleague Matt Egan reports, Russian tankers carrying crude oil and petroleum products are increasingly disappearing from tracking systems, their transponders shutting off for hours at a time.
Iran and Venezuela have engaged in similarly evasive activity in the past to skirt US sanctions. According to one intelligence company, dark activity among Russian-affiliated oil tankers is up by 600% compared with before the war began.
So, who's actually buying it?
Obviously, whoever's buying doesn't want to be outed. But analysts Matt spoke to said there's evidence that refineries in China and India, two of the world's largest oil consumers and fastest-growing economies, are stealthily buying Russian energy.
Trading houses may be buying Russian oil and putting the barrels in storage, including "floating storage" on tankers that remain at sea.
As many as 1.5 million barrels a day of Russian crude oil exports have vanished in the five weeks since the start of war, according to research firm Rystad Energy.
"The destination of the remaining crude exports from Russia… is increasingly 'unknown,'" Rystad wrote in a report this week.
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