Russian oil exports reach highest level since Ukraine's invasion
Most of it goes to India, from where it returns to Europe as refined products
Russia's oil exports have risen to the highest level since the country's invasion of Ukraine. Russia exported 8.3 million barrels per day of crude and refined oil in April.
Source. This is reported by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in its monthly oil report, CNN reports.
The increase in crude oil exports compensated for the decline in exports of refined products for Russia, the agency added.
The growth occurred despite the fact that last year the European Union imposed a ban on imports of Moscow's crude oil by sea and a complete ban on imports of petroleum products.
Russia has managed to redirect huge volumes of its oil to China and India.
India resells Russian oil: the country has become one of the largest buyers of Russian oil since Moscow invaded Ukraine – and sends much of it back to Europe as refined fuel.
In an article published in the Financial Times on Tuesday, European Union President Josep Borrell said that the EU should crack down on India, which resells Russian oil to Europe. Borrell warned that this practice "is definitely a circumvention of sanctions, and member states must take action."
"Russia seems to have no problem finding willing buyers for its oil and oil products," the IEA report says.
Nevertheless, Russia's oil export revenues in April fell by 27% compared to the same month in 2022, the agency calculated. The obvious reason is the large discounts on its oil that Russia offers to buyers.
Tax revenues from the country's oil and gas sector, which accounts for about 45% of the Russian budget, fell by almost two-thirds over the same period.
The IEA said that Russia may further increase oil exports to compensate for the drop in revenues.
Background. Analysts estimate that Russia's spending on the war in Ukraine has reached $240 million a day.
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