Russia loses nearly 20% of its oil and gas revenue amid strengthening of US sanctions
Russia loses 18% of its oil and gas revenue due to the strengthening of US sanctions (Illustrative photo: Getty Images)
Data from the Russian Ministry of Finance indicates a loss of nearly 20% in federal budget revenues from oil and gas sales in February. This occurred amid the tightening of sanctions by the US during the tenure of former President Joe Biden, according to DW and The Moscow Times.
The treasury of the aggressor country received 771.3 billion rubles from oil and gas companies in the last month of winter, which is 18% less than the previous year.
The Russian budget missed 18 billion rubles compared to January, and compared to February 2024, it lost 156 billion rubles.
According to Russian media, due to increased sanctions pressure, Russian oil companies are forced to increase discounts on their products, which has negatively impacted the country's raw material revenue.
According to Bloomberg, the price of Urals crude at shipments from the ports of Novorossiysk and Primorsk at the end of February was around $58 per barrel. Meanwhile, the federal budget project of Russia set the price at $69.7 per barrel.
The drop in oil prices in Russia, as noted by the media, has become a serious problem for the Russian budget.
Previously, Janis Kluge, a researcher at the German Institute for International Security Issues, predicted that as a result of Biden's so-called farewell sanctions, Russia's economy could lose 10 to 20% of its foreign currency earnings from oil sales, which in monetary terms amounts to 10-20 billion dollars.
In February, Reuters reported that Russia would cut oil production under the impact of US sanctions and Ukrainian drones.
Additionally, in mid-January, Volodymyr Dubrovsky, Senior Economist at the Center for Social and Economic Research CASE Ukraine, commented to RBC-Ukraine that the Russian government relies mainly on profits from raw material exports, especially oil. According to the expert, this makes Western sanctions against this sector an effective tool.
