Israel, genocide and crude oil suppliers

This is an article that I did not want to write. It deals with who supplies crude oil to Israel.

Francesca Albanese, the special UN Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories had a short tweet where she congratulated a specific journalist, Nina Lakhani for investigating this and getting a major article into The Guardian on this topic. So, The Guardian? I did not even want to read until I saw the research was based on Oil Change International numbers.

These are valid numbers.

You may remember the ICJ (International Court of Justice) on 26 January ordered Israel to prevent genocidal acts in Gaza. That was the first part of the ruling and the second part of that ruling reminded states and entities dealing with Israel, that under the genocide convention they have a “common interest to ensure the prevention, suppression and punishment of genocide”. What this means is that even if Israel ignores the rulings of the court, other countries that are part of the convention, must abide by them and can be held responsible if they do not.

We know that Israel has far exceeded the very onerous legal litmus tests for classification of committing genocide.

What this means for countries that supply to Israel while they are committing genocide is that the supplier, country or very large oil enterprises can be charged at the ICJ for enabling genocide. Under the genocide convention or better known as the Geneva Conventions, they have a “common interest to ensure the prevention, suppression and punishment of genocide”. It does not matter if Israel has signed on to the convention. The responsibility was placed by the court on the enabling entity equally. That is international law.

Imagine a situation where a case is raised by say China, against Azerbajan for enabling genocide. And yes Azerbaijan supplies oil to Israel who has two refineries where they refine the crude into products for domestic, industrial, and military use. So that is what their war planes, vehicles tanks, and even bulldozers run on, to enable their current genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, the occupied Syrian territories, Lebanon, and the region as a whole.

All fine so far, but what is it that made me not want to write this?

Brazil for example withdrew their envoy to Israel, but they are still supplying crude. This is in stark contrast to the Colombian President, Gustavo Petro, who suspended coal exports to Israel because they use the coal for fueling their war machine.

Oil Change International, reveals continued and expanded oil supply fueling Israel’s ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people. Building on data released in March, countries and companies continue to fuel Israel’s war machine, despite the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) opinion from January, stating Israel is plausibly committing genocide and Palestinians in Gaza have plausible rights under the Genocide Convention and from July, stating the occupation of Palestinian territory is unlawful.

There is an ongoing complicity. These suppliers enable the violence. Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Gabon, Nigeria, Brazil and most recently the Republic of the Congo and Italy – have supplied 4.1m tons of crude oil to Israel, with almost half shipped since the ICJ ruling. An estimated two-thirds of crude came from investor-owned and private oil companies.

Take a look at the graph from The Guardian:

“After the 26 January ICJ ruling, states cannot claim they did not know what they were risking to partake in,” said Francesca Albanese.

The Guardian states: “In early August, a tanker delivered an estimated 300,000 barrels of US jet fuel to Israel after being unable to dock in Spain or Gibraltar amid mounting protests and warnings from international legal experts. Days later, more than 50 groups wrote to the Greek government calling for a war crimes investigation after satellite images showed the vessel in Greek waters.”

As you can see, this threat from the ICJ is real and can be acted upon.

Oil Change International breaks down the supply of crude as follows:

Key Findings:

Corporate Involvement: Investor-owned and private oil companies are complicit through their operations and ownership stakes in projects supplying oil to Israel. These companies collectively supply 66% of oil to Israel, and six major international oil companies (including Chevron (8%), BP (8%) ExxonMobil (6%), Shell (5%), Eni (4%), and TotalEnergies (5%) are responsible for over half of that (35%). According to some legal scholars, these companies could be held liable for complicity in acts of genocide, given the ICJ ruling.

US Military Aid: The US continues to be a key supplier of JP8 Jet Fuel to Israel, crucial for its military operations. The shipments are coming from the Valero refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas. This supply chain is particularly controversial in the context of the US election, where continued military aid for Israel is under scrutiny. In early August, the US-registered Overseas Santorini, one of the key tankers involved in supplying US jet fuel, docked in Israel’s Ashkelon port, facing increased protest from communities and activists en route.

ICJ ruling: 65 shipments of crude oil and refined petroleum products have been delivered to Israel from October 21, 2023 to July 12, 2024. 35 of these (54%) departed their origin port after the January 26, 2024 International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling that Palestinians in Gaza have plausible rights under the Genocide Convention.

Azerbaijan: COP29 host Azerbaijan remains the leading supplier, providing 28% of the crude oil supply via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, majority owned and operated by BP. The Azeri oil is loaded onto tankers in the Turkish port of Ceyhan for export to Israel.

European Connections: Italy, Albania, and Greece have joined the list of supplying countries, sending shipments of crude and refined petroleum products. Cyprus and Greece are also implicated in providing transshipment services.
Increased African Supplies: Gabon remains a major supplier of crude oil to Israel, with additional shipments now coming from Nigeria and Congo-Brazzaville.

Brazil: Brazilian crude oil has made up 9% of the supply since the war started. Brazil also sent a tanker of fuel oil to Israel that arrived in April. As a significant oil supplier to Israel, Brazilian President Lula, who has been highly critical of Israel’s actions, has the opportunity to help bring about a ceasefire by pursuing an oil embargo.

PressTV from Iran says: Countries giving fuel to Israel could be complicit in war crimes: Experts warn

Here is a further graph. Of course, the United States is the major supplier.

Yes, it is Russia that still supplies major crude shipments to Israel. In the PressTV article, they are not mentioned. Now, I know what the Russophiles will say (in a jeering voice as if I am idiotic). Russia Must Fulfil Its Contracts.  (I am also a Russiophile so can it, will ya!)

And I know what I say. Not in the face of genocide. As far as I am concerned, those Houthis can smack their oil carriers with gusto! Russia has lost moral ground here.  As the PressTV article did not mention Russia, I guess they also did not want to write this.

The Russian MFA has my respectful letter.