By Sam Tabahriti
LONDON, May 19 (Reuters) - Britain will allow imports of diesel and jet fuel refined abroad from Russian crude under a sanctions carve-out, easing restrictions as fuel costs surge and add to pressure on airlines and households, driven in part by conflict in the Middle East.
The move follows a similar step by the United States, which on Monday extended a sanctions waiver allowing purchases of Russian seaborne oil to support energy-vulnerable countries hit by supply disruptions linked to the Iran conflict and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Critics of the U.S. decision to extend waivers have said it allowed the Kremlin to earn more money and fund the war in Ukraine to kill innocent people.
Brent crude on Tuesday was trading around $110 a barrel, near recent highs, reflecting concerns over disrupted flows through the strait.
GLOBAL SUPPLY STRAIN
Rising fuel costs have rippled through the global economy, with jet fuel prices surging in recent months and squeezing airlines, for which fuel can account for up to a quarter of operating expenses.
Carriers worldwide have responded with fare increases, capacity cuts and warnings of weaker earnings.
Higher fuel costs have also fed into broader cost-of-living pressures in Britain, which the government is seeking to ease as it grapples with inflation and energy affordability concerns.
Advertisement
Official data published on Tuesday also pointed to a cooling labour market in Britain, with falling payrolls and job vacancies as the Iran war weighs on the economic outlook.
The licence issued on Tuesday grants exemptions where the fuels are processed in third countries but includes conditions such as record-keeping requirements for companies.
The new rules take effect on Wednesday and will be of indefinite duration, though they will be reviewed periodically and can be amended or revoked, the government said in a notice.
Britain's Treasury department did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.
Western sanctions have sought to curb Moscow's energy revenues since its invasion of Ukraine, but Russian crude continues to flow to global markets, often via intermediaries.
Large volumes are shipped to countries such as India and Turkey, where they are refined and re-exported, complicating enforcement as refined products are not typically classified as Russian-origin under standard trade rules.
Separately, Britain on Tuesday issued a time-limited licence covering the maritime transportation of liquefied natural gas from Russia's Sakhalin-2 and Yamal projects and related services - including shipping, financing and brokering - under Russia sanctions rules, running until January 1 next year.
Sakhalin-2, based in Russia's far east, and Yamal LNG in the Arctic, are among the country's largest gas export projects.
Japan's Taiyo Oil said earlier in May that the refinery was set to receive a cargo from Russia's Sakhalin-2 project as it sought alternatives to disrupted Gulf supplies.
(Reporting by Sam Tabahriti; Editing by David Goodman and Daniel Wallis)