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CTV News
20-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
EU, Britain go ahead with new Russia sanctions without waiting for Washington
FILE - An oil tanker is moored at the Sheskharis complex, part of Chernomortransneft JSC, a subsidiary of Transneft PJSC, in Novorossiysk, Russia, on Oct. 11, 2022, one of the largest facilities for oil and petroleum products in southern Russia. (AP Photo, File)
Russia Today
15-05-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
US lifts sanctions on Russia-linked international oil project
The US government has allowed American and international companies to resume oil-related work involving a major Russia-linked project to deliver Caspian oil to the global market. The license, lifting restrictions on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) and the Kazakh company Tengizchevroil (TCO), was issued by the Treasury Department on Thursday. The CPC includes major US oil companies such as Chevron and ExxonMobil among its stakeholders and primarily facilitates the export of Kazakh oil through Russian territory and its shipment internationally. The new General License No. 124 permits all transactions that were blocked under a January 10 decision which prohibited certain petroleum services involving Russia-related energy infrastructure. CPC operates a major pipeline that transports oil from western Kazakhstan to the Black Sea coast of Russia, from where it is shipped globally by tanker. The 1,511-kilometer pipeline is one of the most important export routes for Kazakh oil, handling over 80% of the country's crude exports. The pipeline is jointly owned by multiple companies and governments. Russia holds a 24% stake through the state-owned operator Transneft. Other major shareholders include Chevron, ExxonMobil, Russia's Lukoil and Kazakhstan's national oil company KazMunayGas. Several smaller international firms also own shares. Tengizchevroil is a joint venture that runs the massive Tengiz oil field in Kazakhstan. It was formed in 1993 and is owned by Chevron (50%), ExxonMobil (25%), KazMunayGas (20%), and Lukoil (5%). The earlier sanctions were imposed under Executive Order 14071, which targets services related to Russian energy projects. However, US authorities have made exceptions for projects that are considered critical to global energy markets or involve non-Russian stakeholders. General License No. 121, issued in January, had already temporarily allowed some services for CPC and TCO. That license remains valid until June 28, 2025, but the new license appears to clarify and reaffirm that companies may continue their involvement in these projects without penalty until then. According to the Treasury, the license covers activities like drilling, refining, transportation, and marketing of oil – provided they are connected to CPC or Tengizchevroil. Earlier this year, CPC was forced to temporarily halt operations following two attacks by Ukrainian drones that damaged oil transfer stations linked to the pipeline network on Russian territory. The attacks came after Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump approved a partial ceasefire, under which both Moscow and Kiev committed to refraining from strikes on energy infrastructure.
Newsweek
23-04-2025
- Business
- Newsweek
Russian Economy Dealt Blow With Slumping Oil Prices
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Russia's government has predicted the price of its oil will plummet to its lowest level in half a decade, posing a challenge to the country's sanction-hit economy. Russia's Economic Development Ministry downgraded its 2025 forecast for Urals crude, Russia's major oil export brand, to $56 a barrel. This would be its lowest level since 2020 when the COVID pandemic sparked a collapse in global demand for the country's major export. Experts have told Newsweek that oil offers U.S. President Donald Trump leverage in pressuring Vladimir Putin as the Russian president delays agreeing to any peace deal to end the war he started against Ukraine. Meanwhile, lower prices of the energy export come as a report from the London School of Economics' foreign policy think tank, LSE IDEAS, said that Ukraine's economic resilience may outlast the Russian oil-funded war machine. Newsweek reached out to the Russian Ministry of Economic Development for comment. Why It Matters Oil prices are crashing due to global economic concerns and increased OPEC+ production. Oil exports are a key driver of Russia's economy, making it the focus of Western-led sanctions, which have aimed to choke funds for Moscow's war machine. However, Russia has circumvented a $60 price cap on a barrel of seaborne crude with a shadow fleet of vessels whose ownership is reorganized to hide links to Moscow. As major purchasers of Russian oil, such as India and China, become more reluctant to risk secondary sanctions in buying the commodity, a slump in its price poses a further problem for Russia's revenues. The grounds of a fuel tank farm of Russia's oil pipeline giant Transneft as seen on December 13, 2023. The grounds of a fuel tank farm of Russia's oil pipeline giant Transneft as seen on December 13, To Know Russia's Economic Development Ministry has reduced its 2025 forecast for the average price of Urals crude to $56 per barrel, which is well below the estimated $69 price that Russia's budget is based on and the lowest since the pandemic caused a collapse in demand. It is also less than the $60-a-barrel tipping point, above which profits from oil exports are added to Russia's sovereign wealth fund via taxes. Revenues below this cut-off are covered by drawing from the fund, which as of April 1, held 3.27 trillion rubles ($39.8 billion) in liquid assets. Berlin-based energy analyst Thomas O'Donnell told Newsweek that plunging Urals crude prices would put serious constraints on the Russian budget, but they won't stop the war. However, with Trump reportedly angered at the slow progress of peace talks in Ukraine, targeting Russia's key export further could be a way to exert pressure on Putin. This could be done by sanctioning the oil exported from the western-facing ports in Ust-Luga, Primorsk, on the Baltic Sea, as well as Novorossiysk on the Black Sea. The Ukrainians could also be allowed to use drones and missiles to target parts of the ports that support oil exports, O'Donnell said, because with market conditions of a great surplus of oil and low demand, pressure would build on Putin. "If these ports were closed, half to three-quarters of all of Russia's seaborne oil exports could be conceivably stopped," O'Donnell said, "this could cut perhaps 15 percent of Russia's budget income." Russian President Vladimir Putin at the All-Russia's Municipal Forum in Moscow on April 21, 2025. Russian President Vladimir Putin at the All-Russia's Municipal Forum in Moscow on April 21, 2025. Getty Images Oil as a Bargaining Chip David Goldman, head of trading at Novion Global, told Newsweek that in just over a week in April, Russia's oil revenue dropped by almost 30 percent. Whether Trump intended it or not, his push for lower oil prices may well be the best bargaining tool he has when dealing with Putin, he added. Meanwhile, a report released Tuesday by LSE IDEAS, the London School of Economics' foreign policy think tank, said that Russia is betting its war effort on volatile oil rents, and its fragile financial system is coming under considerable strain. Even in the face of the Trump administration's apparent pivot toward Moscow, Ukraine and its European allies still hold more cards than many, including Trump, actually believe, said Luke Cooper, the author of the report and director of PeaceRep's Ukraine program at LSE IDEAS. Locked out of international bond markets due to sanctions, a further downturn in oil market prices could lead to an acute balance of payments problem for the Russian regime, his report concluded. Also, with Ukraine's sources of external financing secured until 2027, Russia, by contrast, is in a potentially weaker position, as it is highly exposed to price volatility in the global oil market, Cooper added. As global demand for oil trends downward, there is an opportunity to increase pressure on Russia, Cooper told Newsweek. However, the Trump administration is prioritizing the reestablishment of an economic and political relationship with Moscow. "The problem is that the Trump administration doesn't appear to want to maximize pressure on Putin," Cooper said. What People Are Saying Luke Cooper, director of PeaceRep's Ukraine program at LSE IDEAS, told Newsweek: "It has long been recognized that oil is both a source of strength and global demand for oil trends downwards, there is a clear opportunity to maximize pressure on Russia." Energy analyst Thomas O'Donnell told Newsweek: "If Trump wants to really do something, he should simply stop the flow of oil totally from Russia's three westward facing ports—that would be a huge crisis." What Happens Next Russia's Economic Development Ministry forecasts only a modest recovery in oil prices in the next three years, with Urals expected to average $61 per barrel in 2026, rising to $63 in 2027, and $65 in 2028. However, O'Donnell said that even if the oil price in the 50 dollar area hurts the Russian ability to conduct the war, unless the price of oil gets below $25 a barrel, it does not pose a serious emergency for Russia, which amplifies the need for the U.S. to use Russian exports as a tool against Putin.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Russia imposes further restrictions on Black Sea oil export ports
MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia, the world's second-largest oil exporter, on Wednesday imposed restrictions on another major oil export route, suspending a mooring at the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk only a day after restricting loadings from a key Caspian pipeline. Russia produces about 9 million barrels of oil a day, or just under a 10th of global production. Its ports also ship oil from neighbouring Kazakhstan. The restrictions were imposed as U.S. President Donald Trump has said he is unhappy with Russia and the rate of progress in peace talks with Ukraine, and threatened to impose secondary tariffs on buyers of Russian oil. Russia's oil pipeline monopoly Transneft said it had suspended a mooring at Novorossiisk for 90 days after a snap inspection by a transport watchdog. The Novorossiisk Commercial Sea Port (NCSP) is one of Russia's largest export outlets and the closure of one mooring is unlikely to affect its operations significantly. "A temporary ban on operations has been imposed on oil loading berth 8. NCSP has been ordered to eliminate all identified violations by June 30, 2025," Transneft said. Industry sources said that Berth 8 at the Sheskharis terminal handles low-sulphur diesel tankers with a deadweight of around 7,000 metric tons, mainly carrying exports to Turkey and Georgia. An industry source also said that the berth is used to deal with small-scale vessels of up to 10,000 tons of oil products. LSEG and industry sources' data showed that the berth handled around 100,000 tons of diesel in January-March. Two of three moorings at a nearby terminal of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, in which U.S. oil majors Chevron and Exxon Mobil hold stakes, were closed on Monday following the regulator's checks. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call that the restrictions on CPC are related to Ukrainian drone attacks on the infrastructure. Ukraine accused Russia of launching new attacks against its energy facilities. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said a Russian drone hit an energy substation in Sumy region and artillery fire damaged a power line in Dnipropetrovsk, cutting off electricity to nearly 4,000 consumers. Oil exports via the CPC pipeline have been set at 1.7 million barrels per day, or around 6.5 million metric tons, for April. CPC buyers have said they are waiting for the revised loading programme. Both Kazakhstan and Chevron said on Tuesday that the flows via the pipeline were not interrupted.
Reuters
02-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Russia's Transneft suspends one oil loading berth at Novorossiisk for 90 days
MOSCOW, April 2 (Reuters) - Russia's oil pipeline monopoly Transneft (TRNF_p.MM), opens new tab said on Wednesday it has suspended a mooring at the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk for 90 days following a snap inspection by a transportation watchdog. The Novorossiisk Commercial Sea Port (NCSP) is one of Russia's largest exporting outlets and the closure of one mooring is unlikely to significantly affect the port's operations. The Reuters Power Up newsletter provides everything you need to know about the global energy industry. Sign up here. "A temporary ban on operations has been imposed on oil loading berth 8. NCSP has been ordered to eliminate all identified violations by June 30, 2025," Transneft said. The snap checks, which are also being carried out at Taman, Tuapse and other Black Sea ports, are related to a massive oil products spill in December in the Kerch Strait. The action has already resulted in the closure of two of three moorings at a nearby terminal of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, in which U.S. oil majors Chevron (CVX.N), opens new tab and Exxon Mobil (XOM.N), opens new tab hold stakes.
