MOSCOW, Jan 10 – Russia’s Energy Ministry said on Tuesday it was working on additional measures to limit discounts on international benchmark Russian oil prices after the West imposed price caps.
Russia is the world’s second-largest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia, with oil and gas sales accounting for nearly half of the country’s state budget revenue.
President Vladimir Putin signed a decree last month banning the supply of oil and oil products to countries that adhere to the limit for five months from February 1.
Russian crude has traditionally sold at a discount to international benchmarks such as Brent. The discount has widened following Western sanctions against Ukraine and is now around $25-$30 a barrel against old Brent.
“A presidential decree published in December prohibits Russian companies from referring to illegal price cap restrictions in any way, directly or indirectly. This ban applies to any transaction with Russian oil up to the end user, meaning they do not cooperate with traders who do so.” measures not to be enforced,” the Ministry of Energy said in a statement.
“Details of the procedure will be published soon, as will details of the price and discount monitoring procedures. This monitoring will be used to implement further measures aimed at limiting the possible discount to market limits.”