The United Kingdom announced on Tuesday (8) a plan to stop importing oil and oil products from Russia by the end of 2022.
The British government says this transition will give the market, traders and supply chains enough time to replace their Russian imports.
Russia currently accounts for 8% of UK oil demand.
The UK also says businesses should use this year to ensure a smooth transition so it doesn’t affect consumers.
The UK government should work with companies in a task force to support the search for alternative suppliers during this period.
Regarding the import of Russian natural gas, the UK claims that it is not dependent on Russia on this issue. The Russians represent just 4% of the supply to the UK, and the British will explore options to also end this demand by the end of the year.
US bans imports of Russian oil, natural gas and coal
U.S. President Joe Biden is expected on Tuesday to ban Russian imports of oil, natural gas and coal into the United States, according to three sources familiar with the decision.
The US will make the move unilaterally, without its EU allies, due to disagreement among European nations over a ban on Russian energy. EU (European Union) countries have significantly higher exposure to Russian energy than the US.
US officials decided, given extreme domestic political pressure, that they could act without the coalition and not create major problems.
Russia threatens to close pipeline
A top Russian official threatened to cut off Europe’s natural gas supplies on Monday in response to potential oil import bans Moscow could soon face because of its invasion of Ukraine.
“In connection with the baseless accusations against Russia … and the imposition of the Nord Stream 2 ban, we have every right to make a mirror decision and impose an embargo on the pumping of gas through the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, which today is loaded into the maximum level of 100%,” Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said in a televised speech about the decision by German regulators last month to stop certifying Gazprom’s second pipeline, Nord Stream 2.
Russia supplies around 40% of Europe’s gas. Germany, the bloc’s biggest economy, depends on Russia for nearly 50% of its natural gas.
Source: CNN Brasil
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