Taiwan bought over $1.3 billion worth of a Russian oil product this year, report says

By John Liu, Wayne Chang, CNN

Hong Kong (CNN) — Taiwan imported $1.3 billion worth of the petroleum product naphtha from Russia in the first half of this year, more than from any other country, according to a new report.

The purchases come despite Taiwan’s opposition to Russia’s war in Ukraine, backed by some sanctions on Moscow.

Taiwan’s reliance on Russia for naphtha also exposes it to potential moves by China to disrupt those supplies. Beijing, which claims the self-governing island as its territory despite having never controlled it, maintains close ties with Russia and could lean on Moscow to cut off the flow of naphtha to Taiwan.

Naphtha is an essential feedstock in the petrochemical industry for producing some raw materials critical for the manufacturing of electronic components and semiconductors – industries core to Taiwan’s economy.

Taiwan has spent more than $4.9 billion on purchases of the oil derivative from Russia since Moscow launched its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in 2022, according to the report released Wednesday by Helsinki-based research institute Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.

Puma Shen, a legislator of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, said Taiwan’s reliance on Russian energy “poses a threat to national security,” given the strategic alliance between Russia and China.

In the first half of 2025, Taiwan imported 1.9 million tonnes of Russian naphtha. The dollar value of its average monthly purchases has surged nearly six-fold from the 2022 levels, the report said.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Taiwan has joined western-led sanctions against Moscow, and has imposed export controls against the country.

This week, Taiwan’s foreign minister Lin Chia-lung wrapped up a trip to Europe, where he attended the Warsaw Security Summit and called on Europe to join hands with Taipei in the fight against authoritarian expansion and create a “democratic supply chain.”

But unlike the European Union, the United States and some other nations, Taipei has not restricted imports of Russian fossil fuel products.

In a statement Thursday, Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs said state-owned enterprises had stopped sourcing crude oil from Russia in 2023. Taiwan has also stopped exporting key high-tech products to Russia, the ministry added.

“As international sanctions continue to expand, the ministry will further review relevant control measures and engage with domestic companies on compliance, while continuing to work with international partners to demonstrate its firm resolve to oppose aggression and uphold the international order,” it said.

The report on Taiwan’s Russian naphtha imports comes as US President Donald Trump steps up threats and actions against countries purchasing crude and oil products from Russia. He recently criticized European nations for continuing to purchase Russian oil and gas, declaring he wouldn’t move to apply new sanctions on Moscow for the war until they cut off their purchases.

And in August Washington slapped secondary tariffs on India over its continued purchases of Russian oil.

Signalling another possible spat, Taiwan this week vowed to resist pressure from Washington to shift half of its chip production capacity to the United States, following comments from US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick.

Like Ukraine, Taiwan faces military threats from its own expansionist neighbor seeking to absorb it.

“The global community of democracies has relied on economic sanctions to try to end Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. Taiwan’s trade and economic actions must align with our democratic partners, or we risk damaging our international reputation,” said Shen, the legislator, at the report release press conference Wednesday.

While Taiwan’s state-owned oil and gas company CPC stopped receiving Russian naphtha imports in June 2024, another Taiwanese petroleum heavyweight Formosa Petrochemical, which is also a key supplier to Taiwan’s world-beating semiconductor industry, has sharply increased its imports, the report said.

For example, a refinery on Taiwan’s western coast owned by Formosa Petrochemical, increased its reliance on Russian naphtha from 9% before the invasion to 90% in the first six months of 2025. The facility accounted for 96% of Taiwan’s total imports, the report said.

Formosa Petrochemical rejected some of the report’s findings.

It said in a statement to CNN that Russian naphtha imports have accounted for about 85% of its total imports to date this year, according to its internal data. It added that it procures naphtha through open bidding, but it requires all supplies to comply with international sanctions and regulations.

It emphasized that the higher share of imports from Russia reflects global market conditions, rather than an outcome of the company’s procurement strategy.

“Should international rules tighten further, or should our government issue new prohibitions, the company will comply immediately and fully support all relevant measures,” it added.

Hsin Hsuan Sun, a director of Taiwan’s Environmental Rights Foundation and co-author of the report, urged the government and companies to work together to establish clear plans to phase out Russian energy.

“Taiwan cannot afford to ignore the sanctions and supply chain risks created by its growing dependence on Russian fossil fuels,” Sun said in a statement. “Taiwan should not be financing the Kremlin’s war machine.”

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.