MOSCOW: Russia has started diesel exports to Chile, expanding its oil products supplies to Latin America after a European Union embargo forced traders to find new outlets, market sources said and Refinitiv Eikon data showed.

According to Refinitiv data, two cargoes loaded in April in Russia’s Baltic port of Primorsk with about 73,000 tonnes of diesel heading to Guayacan port in Chile.

Since the EU embargo on importing oil products of Russian origin went into effect in February, Russia has diverted its sea-borne diesel supplies to Asia, Africa, the Middle East and increasingly to Latin America.

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In January-April, Russia exported to Latin and South American countries about 1.5 million tonnes of diesel, mainly to Brazil, after 211,000 tonnes in the whole 2022, Refinitiv data showed.

Russian diesel is gaining market share from the United States, which traditionally accounts for most of Brazil’s diesel imports. Brazil buys about 30% of its diesel abroad.

The Group of Seven rich nations, the European Union and Australia have set price caps at $100 per barrel on Russian oil products that trade at a premium to crude, principally diesel, and $45 per barrel for products that trade at a discount, such as fuel oil and naphtha.