As Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on “special economic measures” in response to the decision of some countries to impose a price ceiling on Russian oil, we bring to your attention a detailed report on Russian exports.
Export of Russian oil
Data from the Federal Customs Service of Russia shows that in 2021 Russia exported 229.9 million tons of crude oil for a total of $110.1 billion to 36 countries, with China leading the way since 2017.
In 2021, China bought 70.1 million tons of oil from Russia worth $34.9 billion (equivalent to 30.6% of total Russian exports).
In second place among the buyers of Russian oil were the Netherlands (37.4 million tons against $17.3 billion), and in third place was Germany (19.2 million tons against $9.3 billion).
The top 10 buyers also included:
Belarus (14.9 million tons for $6.4 billion)
South Korea (13.5 million tons for $6.4 billion)
Poland (11.2 million tons for $5.4 billion)
Italy (8.9 million tons for $4.2 billion)
USA (7.4 million tons for $3.7 billion)
Finland (6.3 million tons for $3 billion)
Slovakia (5.3 million tons for $2.5 billion)
Previously, the European Union bought 47% of Russian oil exports (108.1 million tons against $50.9 billion).
Russia exported its oil by sea (118.5 million tons) through ports overlooking the Black, Baltic and Pacific oceans, as well as through the Druzhba pipeline to Europe (35.9 million tons) and through the “Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean” and pipelines crossing the territory of China and Kazakhstan to Asia (40 million tons).
According to OPEC, Russia was the second largest oil exporter in the world after Saudi Arabia with a 10.9% share of its supplies in the world market.
price fluctuations
It is known that the main factor in assessing oil prices on the international market is the price of futures contracts for Brent crude oil. Accordingly, it is possible to calculate the price of Russian oil “Ural”, which was lower than “Brent” by one or two dollars per barrel.
The price of Brent oil reached its all-time high on July 4, 2008, when it was fixed at $143.95 per barrel.
As a result of the 2008 global economic crisis, prices fell to less than $40 per barrel and then rebounded to above $100 per barrel between 2011 and 2013.
In 2014, a new decline in oil prices began as a result of a decrease in demand in the world market. Between 2016 and 2019, prices fluctuated between $45-80 per barrel.
Against the background of the coronavirus epidemic in 2020, prices fell again, dropping below $10 per barrel in the spring. Prices stabilized thanks to the OPEC+ deal, and the average oil price in 2020 reached about $41.96 per barrel. In 2021, prices returned to pre-pandemic levels ($70.86 per barrel).
After the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, oil prices crossed the threshold of $100 per barrel for the first time since 2014 and peaked at $129.2 per barrel on June 8.
Western sanctions and the decision to introduce a ceiling
Against the background of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, Western countries began imposing sanctions against the Russian energy sector since February last year, as some countries announced a complete embargo on Russian oil, namely the US (3% of their total oil imports), the UK (9% ), Canada and Australia, which did not import Russian oil.
The share of Russian oil in EU imports in the past 2021 amounted to 29%, in connection with which the countries of the Union were not ready to immediately completely abandon Russian oil.
Since April last year, Western countries, especially the G7, began to discuss the issue of imposing a ceiling on Russian oil. On September 2, the group announced it had reached a price ceiling agreement, under which countries agree not to buy oil from Russia at prices above it, and not to provide insurance services to Russian oil tankers until the price of oil falls. transport below the specified ceiling.
The price cap was supposed to come into effect on December 5th.
On December 2, it was announced that the ceiling would be $60 per barrel. The European Union and Australia joined the initiative.
The Sakhalin-2 oil project, which involves Japanese companies, is exempt from the price ceiling, as are oil supplies through pipelines, which Hungary insisted on during the EU price ceiling agreement.
Russian refusal
On September 1, Russia announced it was waiving the price cap as Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak confirmed that Moscow would stop deliveries to countries that would enforce the price cap, indicating that Russia would not operate on “non-market terms”.
This position was confirmed by Russian President Vladimir Putin during the Russian Energy Week forum in Moscow on October 12.
It is noteworthy that China, Brazil and the OPEC+ countries condemned the initiative of Western countries to set a price ceiling for Russian oil.
Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that Russia has taken a number of preventive measures as the capital of the Russian National Insurance Company has been increased to provide insurance services for Russian oil tankers.
Source: RT+TASS