A cargo of Russian oil is on its way to Ghana, a country that exports crude and is located near two regional supply powerhouses.
Following the European Union's December ban on almost all seaborne imports from Russia, traders may be scouring the market for new buyers of Russian barrels. The EU's policies forced Moscow to rely heavily on Chinese and Indian purchases.
According to tanker tracking data compiled by Bloomberg, the tanker Theseus arrived in Ghana's territorial waters on Friday carrying approximately 600,000 barrels of Russian oil from a port in the Black Sea. According to sources familiar with the situation, the ship's cargo was scheduled to be pumped into Tema storage tanks. The final signal from Almost all European Union companies are barred from purchasing Russian crude and petroleum products, or from providing critical services such as insurance to nations that purchase such exports above a predetermined price. According to the International Energy Agency, Russia's petroleum revenues fell nearly 20% in December compared to the previous month as a result of the price cap, which resulted in significant discounts on the country's crude.According to the sources, the crude will be stored in tanks at the Tema Oil Refinery. Requests for comment were not returned.
When the tanker was on its way to Ghana, the CEO of the country's National Petroleum Authority stated that the shipment would be blocked if it was bound for the country. After reaching the territorial waters of the West African nation, the NPA did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
The shipment to Tema would be the first delivery of Russian oil to a West African country since at least October 2018, according to tracking data.According to tanker tracking data compiled by Bloomberg, Ghana is a small oil exporter, shipping an average of about 140,000 barrels per day over the last six months. It is also close to Nigeria and Angola, two of Sub-Saharan Africa's largest suppliers.
Following the imposition of sanctions on Russia, the country directed crude exports to China and India, disrupting global oil flows and the maritime industry.
With Europe previously being by far the largest market for Russian oil, this significantly reduced the country's pool of buyers. It also meant that the barrels would have to be discounted at the point of export to account for the relatively high delivery costs.
