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Kuwait will send to Europe five times its usual shipments of diesel this year as an anticipated ban of oil products from Russia takes effect.
A Bloomberg report said the Gulf state expects to ship 2.5 million tonnes of diesel to the European Union (EU) over the course of a year, which will make up for a small part of the lost Russian supplies.
The EU is expected to ban the Russian imports from February 5 as part of ongoing sanctions on Russia for its invasion of neighbouring Ukraine, which began nearly 11 months ago.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, Bloomberg said the shipments will equate to roughly 50,000 barrels of diesel per day, with sales of jet fuel also expected to double to 5 million tons.
Diesel prices may spike to $200 barrel in the first quarter of 2023 because the Russia to EU import ban could trigger a global shortfall, the Bank of America said.
JP Morgan Chase & Co put Russian exports to the EU at 1.3 million barrels per day as of late last year, about half of which was diesel.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are also expected to boost fuel exports to Europe in 2023, Bloomberg said.
(Writing by Imogen Lillywhite; editing by Seban Scaria)
