Russian oil crashes to lowest price in over two years — Bloomberg
Illustrative photo: Russian oil has fallen in price (Getty Images)
Russia’s flagship Urals crude has fallen to its lowest price in two and a half years. The collapse comes just days before US sanctions against Lukoil and Rosneft are set to take effect, Bloomberg reports.
According to the outlet, the price of Russia’s Urals crude fell on Thursday to 36.61 dollars per barrel for shipments from the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. This is the lowest level since March 2023. A similar trend was observed for shipments from ports in the Baltic Sea.
Bloomberg noted that such a drop in oil prices will deal a financial blow to Russia and reduce the amount of money flowing into the Kremlin’s budget to fund its war against Ukraine.
As part of its new sanctions against Russia, the US has given other countries a deadline of November 21 to cease operations with Lukoil and Rosneft. Some refineries in China, India, and Türkiye are already halting purchases and seeking alternative suppliers.
Following the announcement of US sanctions, Urals have started trading at deep discounts compared to other international grades.
US Sanctions
In October, the US approved new sanctions against Russia. The restrictions targeted Rosneft and Lukoil.
This effectively forced other countries to reduce their purchases of Russian oil and halt cooperation with the two Russian oil giants.
In particular, US President Donald Trump stated a few weeks ago that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has almost completely stopped buying oil from Russia.
Meanwhile, the authorities in Bulgaria decided to nationalize Lukoil’s refinery on their territory and sell it to other owners.
