Millions Worth of Russian Oil Stranded At Sea Due to Payment Issues
Over a dozen tankers with 10 million barrels of Russia's Sokol-grade crude oil have been stranded off the South Korean coast for weeks.
The oil remains unsold due to U.S. sanctions and payment issues.
The volume stored in tankers represents over a month's production of the Sakhalin-1 project, once a flagship venture of U.S. major Exxon Mobil, which exited Russia after it invaded Ukraine.
Difficulty in selling the sokol grade oil poses one of the most serious disruptions to Russian oil exports.
Last year, the U.S. imposed sanctions on many ships and companies transporting Sokol to reduce Russian revenues used for invading Ukraine.
Sokol shipments to the Indian Oil Corp were delayed due to payment issues, so India's biggest refiner bought more oil from the Middle East.
Indian Oil Corp does not expect to receive any Sokol shipments soon due to a disagreement over which currency would be used to pay for it.
Marine Insight