Russian oil is sold at a much higher price than the permitted limit
11 April 2024 10:17
Russian oil quotations are currently significantly higher than the ceiling price set by the G7 countries. Bloomberg writes about it, Komersant ukrainskyi 
reports.
According to Argus Media, whose estimates are shared by some G7 countries, Russia’s leading Urals crude oil grade costs about $75 per barrel when it leaves the Baltic and Black Sea ports. The limit requires that any Western company transporting Russian oil must obtain a document confirming that the cargo is worth $60 per barrel or less.
By the time Urals cargoes reach India, the grade is trading at $88 per barrel, just $3.80 below the global benchmark for physical cargoes, Dated Brent, Argus data shows. When Russian ESPO crude leaves the port of Kozmino in eastern Russia, it costs $84 a barrel.
As for transporting Urals cargoes from the Baltic to India or China, the agency estimates that sanctions add $7.12 and $8.79 per barrel to the cost of delivery, respectively.
“The US official said the restriction is still having its intended effect, reducing the amount of money the Kremlin receives from oil sales, forcing it to sell the restricted product either through Western services or Russia’s shadow fleet. The United States plans to continue to enforce the limit by imposing sanctions on ships operating in the shadow fleet, but will not do so in response to any specific market movements, the anonymous official said.”
– the newspaper writes.
Since October, the US Treasury Department has demonstrated that it is ready to punish companies for past price cap violations. However, given the desire to avoid any action that disrupts the flow of oil and threatens to raise prices, the rise in main Brent futures to around $90 per barrel may reduce any impetus to do so now.
