U.S. tells buyers of CPC oil to be wary of suspicious non-Russian origin papers

WASHINGTON, March 18 (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury on Friday told buyers to be cautious if they think certificates stating crude from the Caspian Pipeline Consortium is not of Russian origin have been falsified.

U.S. buyers of oil from the CPC may “reasonably rely” on certification of origin papers, the Treasury said on its website, but they should exercise caution if they have reason to believe the papers are false.

President Joe Biden this month banned U.S. purchases of Russian oil to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.

The U.S. ban has unintentionally gummed up at least some trade in international oil markets as traders avoid purchases fearing that they could be penalized.

Some buyers of oil from the CPC, which ships 1.2% of the world’s crude from Kazakhstan to global markets, have been avoiding its oil because of mixture with Russian grades and loadings from a Russian port.

The Treasury said in an item labeled Frequently Asked Questions on March 8 that Biden’s ban does not prohibit U.S. buyers from taking crude oil from the CPC because its systems can segregate Russian crude from what is marketed.

The department updated that on Friday with the guidance to use caution on any certificates they are suspicious of.