Russia’s oil revenues set to fall despite price spike - Reuters
Oil and gas revenues account for a quarter of Russia’s budget revenues (Illustrative photo: Getty Images)
Revenue to Russia’s federal budget from oil and gas taxes is expected to fall by 52% in March to 520 billion rubles ($6.4 billion) compared to last year, according to Reuters.
The rise in global oil prices resulting from US and Israeli operations in Iran and the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz has not yet affected the aggressor country. The reason is that budget revenues are calculated based on data from the previous month.
Since the start of the conflict in the Middle East on February 28, global oil prices have jumped by about 40%. Russia’s oil and gas revenues account for roughly a quarter of its federal budget income and are crucial for financing the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine.
Russia’s revenues for January–March are expected to total 1.34 trillion rubles ($14.9 billion), compared to 2.64 trillion rubles ($29.3 billion) in the first three months of 2025.
Last year, Russia’s oil and gas revenue was the lowest since 2020, declining by 24% to 8.48 trillion rubles ($94.2 billion).
Russia’s oil revenues
The Financial Times reported that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the sharp rise in oil prices are bringing up to $150 million in additional daily revenue to Russia’s budget.
In addition, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed a so-called barter arrangement between Moscow and Tehran. In particular, Russia supplies Iran with weapons and uses energy revenues to support the Iranian regime, which threatens security in the Middle East.
The Ukrainian president stated that the aggressor country earned about $10 billion in just two weeks of the conflict in the Middle East. He emphasized that this encourages the Russian dictator to continue the war.
