Payman pushes Wong for ban on third-country oil laundering
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has vowed to investigate how to stop Russian petroleum products being shipped to Perth and other Australian cities.
Responding to a question posed in the Senate today by WA Senator Fatima Payman, Senator Wong said that the government was looking at ways to ban laundered Russian oil products.
Senator Payman raised the issue in the Senate after it was revealed that a Greek-flagged oil tanker had brought a shipment of fuel from the Jamnagar refinery in India, which uses Russian oil for about half of its feedstock, to the Kwinana Bulk Jetty not far from Perth.
"As we sit today, there are three stalled oil tankers filled with products also tainted by laundered Russian Oil, unable to ship to Europe because the EU has cracked down on the type of sanctions evasion we are seeing happen right now in my home state," Senator Payman said.
"West Australians need to be sure that, when they're pulling the trigger at the bowser, they aren't helping to pull triggers in Ukraine."
"The Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air found that 55% of the crude used at India's Jamnagar refinery comes from Russia. Since the invasion of Ukraine, Australia has imported $2.3 billion US dollars' worth of fuel from these refineries, with an estimated $1.3 billion flowing straight back to Russia in taxes."
Senator Payman asked Senator Wong if the government would send Border Force down to Kwinana to stop the fuel made from laundered oil from being offloaded — a question not answered by the minister.
But the Minister did say that an investigation was underway into the subject.
"We are looking at how we might further deal with the issue of importation from a third country," Senator Wong said, adding that it was difficult to track the origins of fuel imports.
When Senator Payman pushed the Minister and asked if Australia would follow the European Union lead in closing the sanctions loophole, Senator Wong vowed to engage with the EU so that a methodology could be found.
"We certainly will be very keen to understand how the European Union seek [sic] to deal with the sorts of practical issues that I have described to you, and we'll certainly be looking at that and engaging with them as they work through that process," Senator Wong said.
