Russia’s Oil Exports Surge to Record Highs, Despite Sanctions

Russia which is currently facing sanctions following its geo-political tension with its neighbour Ukraine has managed to export its oil to the highest level in almost three years in March 2023. Yet the revenues were sharply down from last year, noted the International Energy Agency on Friday as reported in The Moscow Times.

The invasion of Russia into Ukraine in February 2022, has invited a slew of sanctions from the West, including price caps on its crude and oil products and the European Union embargoes.

The Moscow Times reported that Russia has retaliated by cutting down its production by 500,000 barrels per day and its partners the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its members also shocked the markets this month by announcing their output-trimming.

In December, the European Union (EU) imposed an embargo on seaborne oil derivatives from Russia, along with a price cap of $60 per barrel for exports around the world that was agreed upon by the G7 nations, including Australia.

Russia's oil revenues have rebounded by $1 billion to $12.7 billion, yet they were down by 43 per cent compared to a year ago. The Paris based - International Energy Agency noted that much of the increase was due to the surge in the exports of oil products, which has more or less returned to the pre-COVID levels as they climbed by 450,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 3.1 million bpd, as reported by The Moscow Times.

Despite Western country's sanctions on Russian oil exports, India and China continue to be the largest buyers of Russian oil.