MADRID, May 11 (Reuters) – Sanctioned Russian energy products may be entering Europe indirectly via third countries and there is no way to prevent that from happening, the chief executive of Spanish oil transportation and storage firm Exolum said on Thursday.
“For us, or for the Spanish government, there is no way to trace the primary origin. I think this may be happening but the ships that are entering Spain comply with the sanctions,” Jorge Lanza told reporters at the presentation of Exolum’s 2022 results.
“As far as we know, Russian products are not entering our system directly,” he said, but “Russian molecules” may be entering Spain after being shipped to third countries where they can be mixed with products from other countries.
The European Union banned Russian crude imports from Dec. 5 and Russian oil products from Feb. 5 as it attempts to cut the stream of Russian oil revenue that helps finance Moscow’s war against Ukraine.
However, last month, the chief executive of Spanish energy firm Repsol (REP.MC), Josu Jon Imaz, said that Russian diesel was still coming into Europe via third countries and called for firmer enforcement.
Reuters has reported that Spain will call for a guarantee certificate from the European Commission on all imports to identify the source of energy imported to Europe and ensure that sanctions covering Russian exports weren’t breached.
Exolum has stepped up the requirements for its counterparties, Lanza said, demanding a declaration that guarantees that the products comply with sanctions and don’t come from Russia.
The company rejected some shipments last year, when there were still some grey areas in the sanctions regime, but restrictions were now much clearer, he added.
Reporting by Pietro Lombardi
Editing by Mark Potter
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