Democrats urge US refineries to stop buying Russian oil

Democrats in Congress are urging US oil refineries to stop importing oil from Russia, Report informs referring to Financial Times.

Bobby Rush, the Democratic chair of the House Energy Subcommittee, and Jerry McNerney, another Democrat on the subcommittee, have written to the refiners’ industry group calling on its members to stop purchasing Russian crude oil and partly refined products.

In the letter to the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, which the Financial Times has seen, the two lawmakers wrote: “Because any purchases of Russian barrels would now finance its war with Ukraine, continuing this activity has become unconscionable.”

Separately, Jack Reed, the Democratic chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, tweeted on Wednesday: “Russian oil imports should be stopped. Our domestic supply is sufficient.”

Later, the association published on its website a response to a letter in which it wrote that it supported Ukraine, and Russia's actions “should be met with fierce opposition.”

“AFPM fully supports the suspension of all future purchases of crude oil and petroleum products from Russia. To protect consumers, however, any import prohibition should exempt products currently in transit to the United States.”