Estonian Foreign Minister called on the EU to lower the price ceiling for Russian oil to $30 per barrel

Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said that EU countries should halve the ceiling on oil prices from Russia to $30 per barrel. In his opinion, the EU should also exert “friendly pressure” on countries that Russia can use to circumvent sanctions.

“We must set a cap on the price of Russian oil in order not to allow the Russian state to receive additional benefits,” said Urmas Reinsalu in an interview. Bloomberg. He called lowering the oil price ceiling by 50% a step “in the right direction.” In his opinion, the restriction should also be extended to Russian gas.

On December 5, the cap on Russian oil prices at $60 per barrel came into effect. After that, most of the Russian resource that falls under the embargo was redirected to China and India. According to Bloomberg, India buys oil from Russia at a deep discount, and after processing sends the fuel to Europe. According to The Wall Street Journal, the countries of North Africa adhere to the same system.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), Russia’s revenues from oil and gas exports in January fell by 38%, to $18.5 billion. According to the Ministry of Finance, against the backdrop of restrictions, the average price of Urals in February fell to how in February 2022 it reached $92.15. On March 1, the Russian Ministry of Energy approved the procedure for monitoring prices for Russian export oil in response to the introduction of a price ceiling.

For more information about what is happening with Russian oil, see Kommersant’s article “So that’s how to get it.”

Olesya Pavlenko