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Economy
Kepler tracking company corrected data showing an oil shipment to the Philippines, initially reported as Iranian, was actually Russian crude oil.
Kepler, a vessel tracking company, stated that an oil shipment delivered to the Philippines, which it identified last month as originating from Iran, was in fact sourced from Russia.
The company informed Reuters on Monday that its data, which had previously indicated that the oil tanker Ocean Start delivered Iranian crude to Petron's Bataan refinery on May 17, was updated to reflect that the tanker carried Russian Urals crude.
This revision followed a review of additional information concerning the shipment's route.
According to the updated data, Ocean Start received the cargo in early May through a ship-to-ship transfer off Singapore from the tanker Caruso, which had transported the oil from the Russian port of Taman in late March.
Earlier, Kepler had reported that Ocean Start took the shipment from the tanker Kaylo, which had loaded crude from Iran's Kharg Island on March 27.
Conversely, analytics firm Vortexa stated this week that it still classifies the shipment as Iranian crude delivered to Petron's refinery via Ocean Start after a transfer from the tanker Noxen, which shares the same Maritime Mobile Service Identity number as Kaylo on ship tracking platforms.
Petron, the Philippines' largest oil company, did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment in May or this week.
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump granted a 30-day waiver from sanctions on Iranian oil purchases loaded on tankers in waters from March 20 to April 19, aiming to reduce sharply rising oil prices following the conflict.
In late April, the Philippines' Department of Energy stated that the country, heavily reliant on crude oil imports from the Middle East, had obtained a U.S. waiver to purchase Russian crude oil and petroleum products.
