Latest news with #Surgutneftegaz
Reuters
20-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
EU countries adopt four sets of new Russia sanctions
BRUSSELS, May 20 (Reuters) - The EU adopted four sets of sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine on Tuesday, including a 17th package targeting Moscow's shadow fleet, and measures related to chemical weapons, human rights and hybrid threats, the European Commission said on Tuesday. The EU and its Western allies have been progressively cracking down on Russia's shadow fleet of tankers and related actors, which work to circumvent the Group of Seven nations (G7) price cap on Russian crude in place since late 2022. The cap was designed to allow Russian oil to be sold to third countries using Western insurance services provided the price was no more than $60 a barrel. However, the crackdown has started to bite and the EU will push for a lower price cap this week during a meeting of G7 finance ministers in Canada. Oil and gas exports are one of Russia's main sources of revenue, which finance its war in Ukraine. The four new sets of measures will hit over 130 entities and individuals. As part of the 17th package, the EU will list 75 new entities including major Russian oil firm Surgutneftegaz, a shipping insurance company and four shadow fleet management firms involved in the UAE, Turkey and Hong Kong, EU sources said. EU diplomats briefly weighed imposing sanctions on the Dubai branch of Litasco, the trading arm of Russia's No. 2 oil producer Lukoil, but it was deleted from the list owing to Hungarian opposition and a weak legal basis, EU sources said. However, they did list Litasco's Dubai shipping arm Eiger Shipping DMCC. Another 189 vessels, of which 183 are oil tankers, have been added to the list, taking the total number of listed vessels to 324. The EU has been in dialogue with countries that provide tanker registrations in an effort to cut off Moscow's use of so-called flags of convenience, referring to those registered to countries other than their actual owner. In the latest round, the flags used included African countries such as Sierra Leone, Gabon and Comoros, Caribbean and Pacific islands, India, Azerbaijan and the landlocked European state of San Marino, the sources added. The package also tightens measures around the sale of dual-use items, which are products or technology that can be repurposed by Russia's military, and lists entities which support Russia's military industrial complex in China, Belarus and Israel.
Reuters
20-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
What's in the EU's new Russia sanctions
BRUSSELS, May 20 (Reuters) - The European Union adopted on Tuesday its 17th package of sanctions against Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The package hits 75 entities with full-fledged sanctions that include asset freezes and financing bans, bringing the total listing to over 2,400 entities and individuals. EU countries also adopted three other sets of measures to tackle chemical weapons, human rights abuses and hybrid threats. Here are the key details: * 189 shadow fleet vessels added to list, including 183 oil tankers. The vessels help Moscow keep its crude exports flowing, circumventing Western sanctions. * EU now lists 342 Russian shadow fleet vessels, including tankers and vessels moving military equipment * New listings include major Russia oil company Surgutneftegaz and Russian shipping firm Insurance Joint Stock Company 'VSK' * Eiger Shipping DMCC, the Dubai shipping arm of Russian oil trader Litasco. Litasco is the trading arm of Russia's No. 2 oil producer Lukoil * Four companies involved in managing Russia's shadow fleet: two in the United Arab Emirates, one in Turkey and one in Hong Kong MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX * EU lists six companies in China: three for providing high-tech machine tools and three for supplying critical components, including for drones * One company in Belarus that exports military equipment to Russia and an Israeli firm involved in sanctions circumvention and supplying products for Russia's military * One Russian gold mining entity Petropavlovsk * 31 entities will face stricter export restrictions on dual-use goods and technology, with 13 from outside Russia and the EU: six in Turkey, three in Vietnam, two in UAE, one in Uzbekistan and one in Serbia HYBRID THREATS REGIME * EU adds 27 entities and individuals to its hybrid threat sanctions framework for facilitating violence in the EU, Ukraine and Africa * These include a Turkish media entity and an individual for involvement in German demonstrations * A British web-hosting entity involved in cyberattacks and two Moldovan nationals * Individuals linked to activities in Africa including a Russian news agency and an NGO in Central African Republic * Sets up new legal basis for future sanctions relating to fleets that aim to hit infrastructure (undersea cables, airports and servers), financial enablers and propaganda outlets CHEMICALS AND HUMAN RIGHTS REGIMES * Three listings in Russia for production of riot control gas used in the battlefield * 28 listings for human rights, including individuals involved in politically motivated trials * The human rights listing includes 20 judges and prosecutors involved in the cases against Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny who died last year
Reuters
30-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Russian ESPO Blend oil freight rates hit lowest since January, traders say
MOSCOW/SINGAPORE, April 30 (Reuters) - Freight rates for ESPO Blend crude shipped from the Russian port of Kozmino to China eased further in April to the lowest since mid-January on higher availability of tankers, three traders said. Lower rates mean Russian exporters will spend less on freight and earn more for their oil. The Reuters Power Up newsletter provides everything you need to know about the global energy industry. Sign up here. Freight rates on the route have eased to levels of around $2 million-3 million for April-loading cargoes from $4 million-5 million for February and March volumes as more non-sanctioned tankers have joined the ESPO market, they added. Russia's ESPO Blend oil price fell below the $60 per barrel Western price cap level for the first time ever early in April as the international Brent benchmark plummeted to the lowest levels in years, Reuters calculations based on three trading sources showed. The price has been changing since then, but remains around the $60 per barrel cap, the traders said. "ESPO Blend hovers around $60 (per barrel). Higher oil prices and lower freight rates may bring its price back above the cap again", complicating the process of finding a vessel, one of the traders said. The cost of transporting ESPO Blend to China jumped to $6 million-$7.5 million after U.S. sanctions were placed on vessels involved in Russian oil shipments on January 10, as many vessels working at Kozmino port were targeted. U.S. sanctions on Russia's oil industry targeted major oil companies Surgutneftegaz and Gazprom Neft, as well as more than 180 vessels. Before the latest round of U.S. sanctions, shipping oil from Kozmino to ports in northern China used to cost less than $1.5 million. Traders said those levels might be achieved again this year if no additional restrictions on Russian oil transportation emerge.
Reuters
14-03-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Exclusive: China state firms curb Russian oil imports on sanctions risks, sources say
SINGAPORE, March 14 (Reuters) - Chinese state oil companies are shying away from Russian oil this month, with two importers halting purchases while two others scaled back volumes as they assess compliance following recent U.S. sanctions on Moscow, multiple trade sources said. Russian oil supplies to top buyers India and China fell sharply following the January 10 sanctions by the former Biden administration targeting Russian producers Gazprom Neft ( opens new tab and Surgutneftegaz ( opens new tab as well as insurers and more than 100 vessels to curtail Moscow's oil revenue. While Russian shipments to the two Asian countries have rebounded after more non-sanctioned tankers joined the trade, China's state-run Sinopec ( opens new tab and Zhenhua Oil halted purchases of March-loading Russian oil due to concerns over dealing with the sanctioned firms, sources with knowledge of the matter said. The scaled-back buying by Chinese state players has weighed on Russian oil prices, eating into Moscow's revenue and putting additional pressure on Russia ahead of a possible ceasefire deal with Ukraine. A Beijing-based state oil source said his company ceased Russian oil deals as it undertakes more compliance checks and waits for a "clear picture" on a possible Russia-U.S. deal to end the Ukraine war. The company would resume purchases if talks lead to the U.S. easing or lifting sanctions on Russian oil, the person added, declining to be named or to identify their company as they are not authorised to speak with media. Surgutneftegaz and Gazprom Neft account for about a third of seaborne shipments of Russia's Far East flagship grade, ESPO blend. The two export about 1.2 million metric tons to China per month combined, or roughly 300,000 barrels per day (bpd). A trading executive close to a Russian supplier regularly dealing with Chinese state buyers said the companies were shunning oil produced by the newly sanctioned companies. "They are taking a break for now while contemplating if there are ways to work around," the executive added. China has said it opposes unilateral sanctions. Sinopec and Zhenhua Oil did not respond to requests for comment. Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegaz did not reply to Reuters requests for comment. Independent refiners have stepped in to take up the slack, supporting prices for Russia's ESPO blend at a $2.50-$3 per barrel premium to ICE Brent on a delivered basis for March-loading cargoes, said the executive and two other traders. More recent transactions of April-loading cargoes were likely done at premiums of just above $2 a barrel, traders said. Prices differ for different oil producers and vessels, they added. Despite layers of Western restrictions aimed at curbing Moscow's revenue due to its war on Ukraine, Chinese state firms have been key clients of Russian oil, buying roughly half of Russia's shipments to China, or around 1.3 million bpd, with independent refiners taking the remainder. Russia is by far China's largest oil supplier, making up 20% of crude imports at the world's top importer. LOWER VOLUMES PetroChina ( opens new tab, a longstanding ESPO buyer from top Russian producer Rosneft ( opens new tab, however, continued with seaborne purchases in March but at lower volumes, two of the sources said. CNOOC, which regularly buys and trades Russian oil, has also cut back on March-loading volumes, traders said. PetroChina and CNOOC did not respond to requests for comment. In addition to seaborne imports, PetroChina continued lifting 800,000-900,000 bpd of Russian oil, mostly ESPO grade, via pipelines from Siberian fields under a long-term agreement. Sinopec, Asia's top crude buyer, has been filling in the gap on Russian imports with cargoes from West Africa, the Middle East and Brazil, traders said.
Express Tribune
08-03-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Russian attacks kill 14, wound 37 in Eastern Ukraine
Firefighters work at the site of a residential area hit by a Russian military strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Dobropillia, Donetsk region, Ukraine March 8, Reuters Listen to article At least 14 people were killed and 37 wounded, including five children, in Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine's eastern city of Dobropillia and a settlement in Kharkiv region overnight, the Ukrainian Interior Ministry said on Saturday. Russian forces attacked Dobropillia with ballistic missiles, multiple rockets, and drones, causing damage to eight multi-storey buildings and 30 vehicles, according to the ministry. The assault resulted in the deaths of 11 people, including five children, and left 30 others wounded. The ministry also reported that three civilians were killed and seven wounded in a separate drone attack on the Kharkiv region in the northeast. "Such strikes show that Russia's objectives have not changed. Therefore, it is crucial to continue to do our best to protect lives, strengthen our air defences, and increase sanctions against Russia. Everything that helps Putin finance the war must collapse," President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Facebook. On Friday, Russian forces damaged Ukrainian energy and gas infrastructure in their first major missile attack since the US paused intelligence sharing with Ukraine, piling pressure on Kyiv as President Donald Trump seeks a swift end to the war. The pause in US military aid and intelligence may undermine Ukraine's air defences as it runs low on advanced missiles and struggles to track attacks as effectively, military analysts say. Dobropillia, home to about 28,000 people before the war, is in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, 22 kilometres (13.67 miles) from the front line north of the key hub of Pokrovsk, which the Russian troops have been attacking for weeks. Fighting continuous Amid US efforts to sit Kyiv and Moscow at the negotiating table, the sides continue to engage in active hostilities in an attempt to gain an advantage. A tank at Surgutneftegaz's Kirishi oil refinery, one of Russia's largest, was damaged by falling debris during a major Ukrainian overnight drone attack, local official said. Russian forces, for their part, have in recent weeks stepped up efforts to eject Ukrainian troops from Kursk, when Kyiv's forces staged a lightning incursion over the border and seized a swath of Russian territory in last August. The Russian Defence Ministry said on Saturday its troops retook three villages in the Kursk region from Ukrainian forces.
