Nå seiler russisk diesel forbi Norge

A Russian diesel tanker bearing the Maltese flag sails past Norway. This shipment arrives following an unprecedented agreement between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier in the month. The vessel is expected to reach New York by November 6th or 7th, according to S&P Global. The United States imposed an import ban on Russian oil and oil products after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

However, on October 9th, Trump announced that Russia had agreed to supply diesel to the US and global markets. The administration subsequently temporarily lifted the sanctions on Russian diesel. This move is seen as an attempt to address the soaring fuel prices, which have become a political issue for Republicans ahead of the midterm elections in the United States.

Experts, however, have downplayed the actual significance of Russia's deliveries, which are estimated to account for only 1.3 days' worth of global diesel demand. "It's just a drop in the ocean," said Ole Hvalbye, a commodities trader at ABG Sundal Collier, when the agreement was made public. Even if the entire announced volume materializes, it will have little impact on the global diesel market, with prices having risen sharply due to the Iran war and Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries, according to Hvalbye.

"It's essentially just politics. There's very little substance to it," said Bjarne Schieldrop, head of commodities analysis at the bank SEB.