Behind the facade of political rhetoric, Russia and the United States have embarked on an impressive show of synergy, with fuel oil becoming a rare demonstration of improving relations.
The issue of US-Russia energy ties has been enjoying a bit of media spotlight as President Trump accused Democrats in New England of purchasing Russian crude to the detriment of national economic interests. Technically, this claim is true only to a marginal extent – most of the Russian crude exports to the United States were in reality from Kazakhstan and were only loaded onto vessels in Russia (CPC Blend). Were we to assess strictly crudes that originate in Russia, US refiners have taken in a mere four cargoes this year (2 Urals and 2 Varandey). Yet behind the facade of political rhetoric, Russia and the United States have embarked on an impressive show of synergy, with fuel oil becoming a rare demonstration of mutually beneficial liaison.
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