On February 5, a new round of restrictions and price caps were put in place on higher-value Russian refined oil products like diesel and cooking fuel.
The price of Russian crude oil, however, has been trending well below the $60 cap in the past two months, which means European companies can still provide secondary services like shipping, finance and insurance. Prices will be adjusted every two months. The EU, the G7, and Australia also agreed to set a price cap on Russian crude oil at $60 per barrel, $20-30 per barrel less than its competitors depending on price fluctuations. The European Union began phasing in sanctions on Russian oil last year, and on December 5, imposed a ban on seaborne crude oil exports. What restrictions have been placed on Russian energy exports?
“While Russian gas pipeline exports to Europe have obviously collapsed, Russian exports of both oil and coal have continued to flow at close to pre-war volumes,” Gavin Thompson, vice chairman for energy in the Asia Pacific at Wood Mackenzie, told Al Jazeera.
Taking a page from heavily-sanctioned Iran, Russia has built up a “shadow fleet” of up to 600 old oil tankers to circumvent Western sanctions, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).ĭemand for oil storage tanks in Singapore is also surging, Bloomberg reported last month, suggesting that Russian fuel is being blended with other oil and re-exported, making it more difficult to trace. Turkey has also emerged as a top buyer of Russian energy crude oil and coal, with analysts pointing to Pakistan and Bangladesh as markets that are likely to follow suit and ramp up Russian energy imports at discounted prices. India’s imports of thermal coal in 2022 rose nearly 15 percent to 161.18 million tonnes.Īnalysts have said that cheap imports are difficult to ignore for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has boosted security ties with the West while maintaining warm Russia ties, as he faces both high inflation and an election year. India, which has emerged as the biggest customer of Russian oil, in January imported a record 1.4 million bpd of the commodity - a more than 9 percent rise from December. Meanwhile, China’s imports of Russian coal last year surged 20 percent to 68.06 million tonnes. Kpler, a commodities market analysis firm, has estimated that China will import some 5.62 million bpd in February, beating the previous all-time high.Ĭhina’s imports of Russian pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas in 2022 soared 2.6 times and 2.4 times, respectively, to $3.98bn and $6.75bn, respectively. How much has Chinese and Indian demand for Russian energy grown?Ĭhina and India, both of which have declined to condemn Russia or impose sanctions over the war, became the biggest buyers of Russian crude oil last year as Western countries restricted imports and imposed sanctions.Ĭhina’s imports of Russian crude oil spiked 8 percent in 2022, the equivalent of 1.72 million barrels per day (bpd), according to Chinese customs data, making Russia the East Asian giant’s second-biggest supplier.
Russia’s economy shrank by just 2.1 percent in 2022 - far less than previously forecast contractions of up to 12 percent.
STAYED AFLOAT SELLING NOW HE FACES DRIVERS
How China and India’s Appetite for Oil and Gas Kept Russia Afloatĭespite Western-led sanctions aimed at punishing Russia over its war in Ukraine, growing demand for Russian energy imports has helped keep the country’s besieged economy afloat.Ĭhina and India, Asia’s biggest and third-biggest economies, respectively, have been the biggest drivers of the trend.
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