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White House believes Russia is seeing a big drop in oil sales, imperiling key source of funding
Economic Policy
White House believes Russia is seeing a big drop in oil sales, imperiling key source of funding
But the long-term outlook for Russian energy remains unclear, with some analysts predicting that other buyers will step into the market
By Jeff Stein
Today at 1:32 p.m. EDT
Senior Biden aides believe that Russia is suffering a dramatic decline in oil sales that stands to deprive the Kremlin of a key source of government revenue, according to a senior administration official and one person briefed by a senior administration official, both of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to share an assessment not yet made public.
The Biden administration is examining private industry data showing that sales of Russian crude oil by vessel went from roughly 2 million barrels a day to close to zero between March 15 and March 20, the people said. The official said that more than 2 million barrels of Russian oil sold per day have been taken out of the market and that Asian buyers are not stepping in to fully fill the gap.
But some analysts believe that Russia will continue to sell huge quantities of oil that will help Moscow fund its invasion of Ukraine; they argue that Congress, the administration and Europe could take more aggressive action to curb sales of Russian energy.
[U.S. to ban oil imports from Russia as White House explores drastic plans to buffer economy from energy shock]
The administration’s assessment suggests the war in Ukraine and the global response to it may already be dealing a debilitating blow to Moscow’s energy exports. Oil sales are the single biggest source of revenue for the Kremlin, accounting for as much as 40 percent of the Russian government’s budget, according to Russia’s Finance Ministry.
{snip}
By Jeff Stein
Jeff Stein is the White House economics reporter for The Washington Post. He was a crime reporter for the Syracuse Post-Standard and, in 2014, founded the local news nonprofit the Ithaca Voice in Upstate New York. He was also a reporter for Vox. Twitter https://twitter.com/jstein_wapo
White House believes Russia is seeing a big drop in oil sales, imperiling key source of funding
But the long-term outlook for Russian energy remains unclear, with some analysts predicting that other buyers will step into the market
By Jeff Stein
Today at 1:32 p.m. EDT
Senior Biden aides believe that Russia is suffering a dramatic decline in oil sales that stands to deprive the Kremlin of a key source of government revenue, according to a senior administration official and one person briefed by a senior administration official, both of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to share an assessment not yet made public.
The Biden administration is examining private industry data showing that sales of Russian crude oil by vessel went from roughly 2 million barrels a day to close to zero between March 15 and March 20, the people said. The official said that more than 2 million barrels of Russian oil sold per day have been taken out of the market and that Asian buyers are not stepping in to fully fill the gap.
But some analysts believe that Russia will continue to sell huge quantities of oil that will help Moscow fund its invasion of Ukraine; they argue that Congress, the administration and Europe could take more aggressive action to curb sales of Russian energy.
[U.S. to ban oil imports from Russia as White House explores drastic plans to buffer economy from energy shock]
The administration’s assessment suggests the war in Ukraine and the global response to it may already be dealing a debilitating blow to Moscow’s energy exports. Oil sales are the single biggest source of revenue for the Kremlin, accounting for as much as 40 percent of the Russian government’s budget, according to Russia’s Finance Ministry.
{snip}
By Jeff Stein
Jeff Stein is the White House economics reporter for The Washington Post. He was a crime reporter for the Syracuse Post-Standard and, in 2014, founded the local news nonprofit the Ithaca Voice in Upstate New York. He was also a reporter for Vox. Twitter https://twitter.com/jstein_wapo