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Moscow's income from fossil fuel exports plummeted to their lowest levels since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, but Turkey has emerged as a new route for Russian oil supplies to the EU, as per the Finland-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).

The think tank added that Russia received an estimated 21 billion euros ($21.7 billion) in fossil fuel exports last month, a 7% decrease from September.

Export revenue to the European Union plummeted 14% to 7.5 billion euros, falling short of pre-war levels.

The EU will restrict the majority of Russian crude oil imports beginning next month, with Russian refined oil products being outlawed beginning in February.

The EU has also imposed a coal embargo on Russia. While it has not prohibited Russian natural gas imports, Moscow has reduced supplies to the EU. "A new route for Russian oil to the EU is emerging through Turkiye, a growing destination for Russian crude oil," CREA said, in reference to Turkey.

Ankara has doubled its imports of Russian crude since the Ukraine war began in late February. The oil is subsequently processed in Turkey, where shipments of refined oil products to the EU and the US increased by 85 percent between July and August, according to CREA.

"Turkish refiners are therefore providing an outlet for Russia's oil exports, by refining products for markets that are either not willing to import Russian crude oil directly or don't have the refining capacity to process it," it said.

CREA has also stressed that "as the EU bans crude oil imports from Russia on 5 December, this loophole could become important." 

A flashback

The idea of creating a gas hub was initially proposed by the Kremlin in early October. At the time, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that he agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the establishment of a gas hub in which the EU will be able to make purchases of Russian gas via Turkey. 

Moscow already supplies Ankara with natural gas through the TurkStream link which passes through the Black Sea. The pipeline starts on the Russian coast, runs over 930 km through the Black Sea, and comes ashore in the Thrace region of Turkey.

It directly connects the largest gas reserves in Russia to the Turkish gas transportation network, providing reliable energy to Turkey, South and Southeast Europe.