EU proposes broadest clampdown on Russian crude exports
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen did not specify how the ban would be phased in or whether it would later include refined products – whose price cap is different – and other energy exports such as liquefied natural gas (LNG).
She said the ban would be, “in coordination with like-minded partners”, and that Russian LNG tankers and icebreakers would encounter “sweeping bans” on maintenance and other services.
The G7 set a price cap for Russian crude in 2022 with the aim of curbing Moscow’s revenues while still enabling third countries to import the oil, as long as they paid no more than the cap. Last year, the EU and a coalition including G7 members Britain and Japan lowered the cap to reflect falls in market prices.
It now sits at $44.10 a barrel, compared to $64 currently for Iraq’s similar Basra Medium blend. The US shunned this coalition, although it did add Russia’s top two oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, to its list of sanctioned entities subject to full asset freezes, which the EU has not.
