US Sanctions on Russian Oil Are Working, Treasury Says

An analysis conducted by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of the Treasury has shown that the American sanctions imposed against the Russian oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil have been effective, leading to a significant drop in the price of Russian oil. This is reported by the Reuters agency, citing the department's internal documents.

As noted by OFAC, the sanctions imposed on October 22 "have had the desired effect, reducing Russia's revenues by lowering the price of Russian oil." This, in turn, limits Russia's ability to finance the war against Ukraine, the department adds.

The analysis states that several key types of Russian crude are being sold at multi-year lows. Moreover, nearly a dozen major buyers from India and China have announced their intention to halt purchases of Russian oil in December.

Reuters, citing LSEG data, details that on November 12, the price of a barrel of Urals oil loaded at the port of Novorossiysk was $45.35, the lowest figure since March 2023. At that time, Russia was just beginning to form a "shadow fleet" to circumvent the "price cap" set in the winter. As of Monday, the price has risen to $47.01 per barrel.

For comparison, the price of Brent crude, which is considered a benchmark in the global oil market, was $62.71 on November 12 and $64.03 per barrel on November 17.