Transneft, the Russian oil pipeline operator, has informed local oil companies that it would be capping the intake of yet-to-be-sold crude because of full storage as buyers in the West shun Russian oil, Reuters reported on Tuesday, quoting sources with knowledge of the plan. While Russian oil flows are not currently embargoed in Europe, many buyers—including international oil majors—are steering clear of Russia’s crude and oil products. The Western companies are concerned over future embargoes and/or sanctions or have already pledged not to buy Russian oil as a “self-sanctioning” precaution amid public pressure to stop financing Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. It now appears that the buyers’ reluctance to purchase Russian spot cargoes, at least buyers in the West, has resulted in a full Transneft storage system, and the pipeline network operator of Russia has imposed caps on the amount of oil it would take. The limits on flows […]