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Sergei Bobylev/ ZUMA Press.
This story was originally published in Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
Russia has almost It doubled its revenues from selling fossil oil to the EU during the war in Ukraine. The EU also benefited from the soaring prices, even though volumes have decreased.
According to the Center for Research on, Russia has received $65 billion in exports of oil and gas since the invasion began. This is based on an analysis of shipping movements by the Center for Research on. Energy and Clean Air.
The EU’s imports in the last two months were approximately $46 billion, compared to $147 billion for all of 2013, or roughly $12.3 billion per month.
These findings show that Russia continues to reap the benefits of its nuclear program. stranglehold over Europe’s energy supplyDespite the fact that governments have been trying to stop Vladimir Putin using oil or gas as an anabolic weapon, Economic weapon.
Even though exports from Russia have been reduced by the war and sanctions, the country’s dominance as a source of gas has meant cutting off supplies has only increased prices, which were already high because of tight supply as global economies recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic. According to CREA data, crude oil shipments from Russia to foreign port fell by 30% in the first three weeks in April, compared to rates in January and February before the invasion.
Russia has effectively restructured its economy by allowing its oil and gas to be sold at higher prices than ever before. This means that Russia’s revenues have increased even though sanctions and export restrictions are still in place. Russia has effectively The EU was caught in a trap where further restrictions will raise prices further, cushioning its revenues despite the best efforts of EU governments.
Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst for CREA, said the cash propped up Putin’s war effort, and the only way to disable his war machine was to move rapidly away from fossil fuels. “Fossil fuel exports are a key enabler of Putin’s regime, and many other rogue states,” he said. “Continued energy imports are the major gaps in the sanctions imposed on Russia. Everyone who buys these fossil fuels is complicit in the horrendous violations of international law carried out by the Russian military.”
Russia has made recent moves to Stop importing fossil fuels to Poland and BulgariaIt has caused outrage. Louis J Wilson, senior adviser at campaigning group Global Witness, said Russia’s willingness to violate its own contracts meant businesses now had no excuse for continuing to trade with Russia.
“Fossil fuel majors and commodity traders who have continued trading in Russian fossil fuels, claiming that they are forced to do so by their long-term contracts, should take note of the value of the agreements they hold with Russian entities. Russia is willing to tear up these contracts to support their own war effort, yet European companies supposedly feel compelled to continue financing war crimes out of respect for them,” he said. “The corporate enablers of this deadly trade have shown they will stop at nothing to continue profiting from Russia’s blood oil.”
CREA’s data found that many fossil fuel companies Continued to trade in large quantities with Russia, Shell, and ExxonMobil.
Germany was the largest importer during the last two months despite repeated claims by the government that Russia’s oil dependence was a priority. The country imported about $9.5 billion during this period. Italy and the Netherlands were also large importers with $5.9 billion and $7.1 billion, respectively. However, those countries have major ports that allow them to import products for domestic consumption as well as for refining and chemical industries.
A spokesperson for Shell told the Guardian that the company had taken decisive action in response to Russia’s war on Ukraine. “We have announced our intent to exit our joint ventures with Gazprom and related entities and to phase out all Russian hydrocarbons, in consultation with governments. Since we announced this intent, we have stopped all spot purchases of Russian crude, liquefied natural gas and of cargos of refined products directly exported from Russia.”
And a spokesperson for Exxon said: “We support the internationally coordinated efforts to bring Russia’s unprovoked attack to an end, and we are complying with all sanctions. Since the Russian invasion we have not signed any new contracts for Russian goods, and no Russian crude or refined products are currently scheduled for the UK. We will not invest in new developments in Russia.”
“Two months after Putin invaded Ukraine, Germany is still funding the Russian war chest to the tune of €4.5 billion (~$4.7 billion) a month. Berlin is the largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels,” Bernice Lee, a research director at the Chatham House think tank, told the Guardian. “The world is looking to Germany to demonstrate strength and determination towards Russia, but instead they’re bankrolling the war and blocking a European embargo on Russian oil.”
