In a desperate attempt to secure supplies of jet fuel, the British Government has eased sanctions on Russian crude oil to increase supply. Since 2023, Moscow’s petroleum products have been subject to strict sanctions, and in July 2025 a ban came in on the category that includes diesel and jet fuel made from Russian crude oil coming into the European Union.

Like most European countries, Britain is reliant on imports for diesel and jet fuel. Roughly half of the diesel the country uses is refined overseas, as is around three-quarters of jet fuel. But whereas Britain’s diesel is sourced from a variety of refineries around the world, including the EU, the country is particularly dependent on suppliers in the Gulf for its jet fuel, especially in Kuwait. With the Strait of Hormuz effectively blocked by the Iran conflict, supplies are running dangerously low.

The international jet fuel market is notoriously tight, with buyers competing aggressively for access to supplies. With the Gulf closed, and American supplies closely guarded by the US aviation industry, British distributors cannot afford to be fussy about who supplies the fuel. The key alternative used by countries such as Turkey and India is Russian crude oil refineries, against which the Government has taken a tough stance since the start of the Ukraine war. The problem is that continuing this stance could lead to economic pain for Britons, especially for tourists who could have their holidays canceled.

Labour has obviously recognized that it is unpopular enough already. But how has it come to this in the first place? The problem is the limitations of what refineries in Britain and across Europe can actually produce. Britain’s four remaining major refineries went into production between 1951 and 1969, and were geared toward the demands of the time. This was mainly light products such as petrol. Diesel and jet fuel were produced in the UK, but didn’t come anywhere close to meeting current demand.

Then, in the Nineties, European regulations triggered a massive shift toward diesel engines in cars, while the huge increase in air travel caused an exponential growth in demand for jet fuel. That era also saw the beginning of strict emissions regulations and high carbon taxes for businesses such as refineries. As a result, there was limited interest from investors to put in the billions of pounds that would have been needed to upgrade old refineries to meet new demands. In recent years, Net Zero targets have compounded this problem.

Since 2000, British output of jet fuel has actually declined by just under 50%, and diesel production has fallen by nearly 55%. In that time, new refineries in the Gulf and Russia began selling both products at prices with which domestic refineries couldn’t compete. The result was that Britain became addicted to imports.

With a more realistic approach to regulation and taxes, British refineries could be producing ample diesel and jet fuel. Crude oil from domestic stocks in the North Sea, as well as Norway and the Netherlands, could be looped in. Instead, it’s the usual story of British and European over-regulation and over-taxation dominating, putting foreign suppliers at an advantage. Then, at a moment of crisis, Britain is taught the hard lesson that lofty principles are out of bounds.

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Chris Bayliss is an independent consultant who works on energy infrastructure in the Middle East.

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