Russia’s revenues from oil and gas exports fell by almost 40% in January
Due to Western sanctions and the introduction of a price ceiling, Russia’s income from oil and gas exports fell by almost 40 percent in January compared to January of last year. This was reported by Reuters with reference to data from the International Energy Agency (IEA).
According to IEA data, with which the agency got acquainted, in January 2023, Russia’s income from oil and gas exports amounted to 18 and a half billion dollars. This is 38 percent less than the 30 billion dollars that Moscow received a month before the invasion of Ukraine.
According to the executive director of the IEA, Fatih Birol, the reason was the Western sanctions against the export of Russian energy, in order to reduce Russia’s income, which helps it continue the war in Ukraine. Western measures “achieved their goal of stabilizing oil markets and reducing Moscow’s income from oil and gas exports,” Birol said. The IEA expects “that this decrease in revenues from oil and gas will be sharper in the coming months. And even sharper in the medium term due to the lack of access to technologies and investments.”
The price ceiling for Russian oil agreed upon by the countries of the Group of Seven, the European Union and Australia – no higher than 60 dollars per barrel – entered into force on December 5. From February 5, price ceilings for Russian oil products began to take effect.
Since February 1, Russia has imposed a ban on oil supplies to “unfriendly” countries that have imposed a price ceiling on it.
According to Reuters estimates, in 2022 the supply of Russian gas to Europe decreased by almost 46% compared to the previous year and reached the lowest values since 2000. After its invasion of Ukraine, Russia stopped supplying gas to a number of European Union countries, others refused Russian gas themselves. Also, the decrease in exports was affected by the accident at “Severny Streams”.
The Kremlin, which last year earned about 146 billion euros from the sale of oil and gas, was forced this year to start selling international reserves to cover the budget deficit, Reuters notes.
At the beginning of February, the Ministry of Finance of Russia reported that in January Russia’s income from the sale of oil and gas decreased by 46% compared to the same period last year. The Russian Ministry of Finance cited a drop in oil prices as one of the reasons. Thus, according to the Bloomberg agency, Russian Urals oil is traded at half the world price – less than 38 dollars per barrel.
