Oil Surges as U.S. Mulls Ban on Russian Crude Imports A cargo of Russian Sokol oil from the Far East was offered at a steep discount as the nation’s invasion of Ukraine and the prospect of a crude import ban makes buyers cautious about dealing with its oil. A trading house offered a May-loading cargo that will ship from the eastern port of De-Kastri at a discount as wide as $14 a barrel to the benchmark Dubai price, said people with knowledge of the matter. That’s drastically lower than last week when Trafigura Group offered Sokol at a premium of $1 a barrel. The deep discount comes as the Middle Eastern Dubai price marker slumps relative to London’s Brent crude, further devaluing the shipment. There were no immediate trades or deals involving the cargo, which was showed privately by the trading house to Asian refiners in the spot market, […]