Lukoil Diverts Oil From Azerbaijan to Russia to Combat Sanctions

Russia's second-largest oil producer, Lukoil, has started diverting Caspian oil flows from the Azeri capital of Baku to the Russian port of Makhachkala to tackle Western sanctions, two industry sources said on Thursday.

One of the sources said the tanker, Lady Leila, under the Russian flag is due to arrive later on Thursday to Makhachkala with a cargo of 5,000 metric tons of crude oil from Lukoil's Korchagin oilfield in the Caspian Sea.

The United States and the United Kingdom last month imposed sanctions on Russia's second-largest oil company, complicating how it carries out its normal operations.

Lukoil used to ship its oil from the Caspian Sea's fields to Azerbaijan's SOCAR oil refinery in Baku as well as to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium.

The sources said Lukoil will send around 30,000 tons of oil to Makhachkala this month, while starting from December it will divert all the oil, around 130,000 tons per month, previously slated for Baku.

Lukoil did not reply to a request for comment.

(Reuters)