Russian oil sales are increasingly under an embargo in all but name, threatening a vital source of global crude supply.
While there are currently no sanctions in place preventing companies from purchasing the nation’s crude, buyers are refusing to take it, and tanker companies are unwilling to ship it. Refineries are racing to secure alternative supplies from other markets. Shell Plc appeared to at least partly buck the trend, continuing to purchase the country’s oil and gas.
On Tuesday, Trafigura Group, an oil trading giant, offered to sell a cargo of the nation’s flagship Urals grade for $18.60 a barrel ...