US Commerce Department targets Russia’s oil refining sector

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - The US Commerce Department announced Friday it targets Russia’s oil refining sector with export controls through two actions.

The first action builds on existing US restrictions that were put in place on the Russian deepwater oil and gas exploration and extraction industries in 2014, when Russia had annexed Crimea. It imposes restrictions on a wide variety of items necessary for refining oil.

The second action adds 91 new parties in 10 countries to the Commerce Department’s entity list, for their involvement in Russian security services, military and defense sectors.

While majority of the entities are located in Russia, there are some in the UK, Estonia, Spain, Malta, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Belize, Singapore, and Slovakia.

"These actions will further restrict access to U.S. commodities, software, and technology as part of our ongoing efforts to degrade Russia’s ability to acquire the items it needs to sustain its military aggression," the department said in a statement.

"Russia is one of the world’s leading producers of oil products and these restrictions will limit its ability to raise revenue from the sale of refined products, including gasoline, that it can use to support its military efforts," it added.