Russia’s revenues from oil exports in April may significantly exceed the same period in previous years, even despite the sanctions, according to Foreign Policy , citing the Institute of International Finance,
KYIV. UkraineGate , 26 , April , 2022 | Economy .
Details
It is noted that despite sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, oil exports from Russia to Europe and countries such as India and Turkey “have actually grown, and its financial sector is still avoiding a serious liquidity crisis.”
Experts say sanctions may work in the long run, but many of the same countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia are still seriously undermining their efforts by buying energy from it – in some cases even more in April than in April. March.
“Putin continues to make at least a billion dollars a day selling oil and gas, and the lion’s share goes to Europe,” said Edward Fishman, a former European specialist at the State Department. “Some European countries send military aid to Ukraine, but it is meager compared to the payments they make to Russia for oil and gas,” he added.
Despite the West’s restrictions on Russia’s financial sector, oil exports rose to 3.6 million barrels a day in April from 3.3 million barrels a day a month earlier, said Matt Smith of Kpler, a company that tracks oil cargo ships. “The bottom line is that Russia’s crude oil exports this month are actually higher than last month. It’s amazing,” Smith said.
Or, according to this week’s report by experts from the Institute of International Finance, Russian oil supplies in April are still “at a record pace.” Even with the large discount on Russian oil by world standards, this means that “revenues from oil exports are likely to be significantly higher than the same month in previous years.”
These revenues, the publication notes, have led to the fact that the current account surplus of Russia has reached a new high. In the first three months of the year, it was $ 60 billion versus $ 120 billion for 2021, providing the Kremlin with fresh revenue to counter sanctions, although Russia has far fewer opportunities to buy materials and spare parts from abroad due to sanctions.
Russia is the world’s third-largest producer of crude oil after the United States and Saudi Arabia.
Addition
The WSJ also wrote that in April, Russia increased oil supplies to key Western partners to circumvent sanctions. One of the most popular methods of delivery: a tanker marked “destination unknown”.
Brussels, meanwhile, is working on a sixth package of sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. It is expected to include a “kind of” embargo on Russian oil imports .
At the same time, the European Commission does not currently see enough support from EU member states for a full embargo on Russian oil and gas.
Source: Ukrgate