European Union in panic, rush to collect oil before stopping imports from Russia

The buyers are rushing to fill European oil storage tanks with Russian oil, with flows this month on track to reach a higher level of one year.

On 5 December, the European Union banned imports of Russian crude oil at sea, while 5 February will ban Russian oil products, Reuters reports.

This decision comes to hit Russia's economy and to show that the EU is independent and can secure hydrocarbons themselves.

The Group of Seven Countries (G7), Australia and the 27 European Union countries also implemented a price limit for Russian crude oil on 5 December.

This allowed countries outside the EU to continue importing Russian crude oil into the sea, but will ban shipping, insurance and new insurance companies to handle Russian crude oil loads across the globe, unless it is sold for less than $60.

G7, including the US, Australia and the EU, are drafting a similar price limit mechanism for Russia's refined fuels as diesel, oil and oil from February 5th.

According to a G7 official, there will be products that are traded at high prices on crude oil, as well as on discounts.