Thanks to the incomplete execution of the Western decision to introduce a ceiling of prices for Russian oil, Russia’s income from the sale of oil in April of this year reached the highest level since November 2022.
The decision to introduce the ceiling of prices for Russian oil entered into force in December 2022. At the same time, after the decision of the Russian Federation, it earned 58 billion euros from raw oil exports, and transported by sea.
According to the Finnish Center for Studies of Energy and Clean Air Crea, the maximum ceiling of Russian oil prices in the amount of $ 60 gave a good start in terms of reducing oil revenues of the Russian Federation. However, the inability of the EU countries and G7 to revise the ceiling of prices every two months, as planned, led to the fact that practice has lost its strength.
Thus, Russia’s income in the current April increased by 14 percent compared to the beginning of 2023, reaching the maximum level since November 2022.
amid the growth of Russia’s income from oil export, oil revenues increased in April by 6 percent. Meanwhile, Russian income still did not reach the indicators of April 2022, when oil prices sharply jumped.
Most of the supply of Russian oil was carried out on tankers insured in Europe.
According to Crea, Russia’s oil revenues can be reduced by another 22 billion euros (37 percent) if the ceiling is reduced to $ 30 per barrel.
Among the measures aimed at reducing the income of the Russian Federation from oil, CREA considers the ban on the entry of tankers with Russian oil in the EU ports and G7, the implementation of payments only through certain intermediaries, as well as the creation of a structure that will control the execution of the embargo decision on Russian oil.
CREA chief analyst Lauri Mulivirta said that the EU did not fulfill its obligation to revise the ceiling of prices for Russian oil. “Tankers belonging or insured by Europeans also continued to transport Russian oil. This is a clear sign that the price ceiling does not work,” the analyst said.