A tanker carrying 40,000 metric tons of Russian diesel is expected to arrive in New York on November 7, marking the first US import of Russian oil or petroleum products since 2022. The shipment is part of a deal between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin to increase fuel supplies and ease prices.
What happened
The Malta-flagged Agioi Fanendes loaded ultra-low sulfur diesel at Russia’s Baltic port of Primorsk on October 22. The buyer and seller were not immediately known. The Russian Embassy in South Africa confirmed that a tanker carrying 326,800 barrels of petroleum products had left Primorsk for New York, which is roughly equivalent to the 40,000 metric tons reported by LSEG shipping data.
The Trump administration seeks to ease fuel prices and expand domestic refining capacity through this agreement. The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has issued a temporary general license to allow the supply of Russian diesel to global markets. Additionally, Trump has invoked the Defense Production Act to direct the expansion of domestic petroleum infrastructure.
More shipments of Russian diesel to the US are planned, with Russia expected to export 300,000 metric tons of diesel to the US and global markets, followed by 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons thereafter. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak has said that additional shipments will follow as Russian and US companies work out delivery contracts.
