The price of Russian oil fell below $60 after sanctions against the Russian "shadow fleet"
Five tankers are just the beginning: dozens of shipping companies from 30 countries are now under investigation by the US Treasury Department
Russian oil companies have faced a sharp decline in Urals oil prices after the United States began imposing sanctions on tankers belonging to the Kremlin's "shadow fleet." For the first time since mid-July, the price of Urals for shipment from the ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga on the Baltic Sea fell below $60 per barrel.
Source. This was reported by Reuters with reference to traders.
At the end of September, Urals, Russia's main export brand, was selling for $85, and its discount to Brent was only about $10 compared to $30-40 last winter. A month later, Urals was already at $80 per barrel, and since then, prices have fallen by 25%. And the discount to Brent has reached almost $20 again.
Oil is getting cheaper on the world market, but the reason for the fall in the price of Russian barrels is the new US sanctions, Reuters sources say.
In October, the United States blacklisted two tankers, the Yasa Golden Bosphorus and the SCF Primorye, registered to companies from Turkey and the UAE. In November, the sanctions list included three more vessels – Kazan, Ligovsky Prospekt and NS Century – owned by shipping operators in Dubai. All of them were found to be in violation of the "price ceiling" that prohibits the transportation of oil of Russian origin at a price higher than $60.
At the same time, five tankers are just the beginning: dozens of shipping companies from 30 countries are currently under investigation by the US Treasury Department, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters.
According to him, ship operators have been sent inquiries about 100 vessels, which is almost the entire "shadow fleet" that Russian oil companies managed to assemble by buying up old tankers intended for scrap. This makes oil carriers nervous.
Background. As a reminder, the United States suspected at least 100 vessels of transporting Russian oil that is more expensive than the price ceiling.
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