UK sanctions Russia’s major oil firms
London has imposed sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies – Lukoil and Rosneft, as well as 44 shadow fleet vessels.
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The UK government has imposed sanctions on a total of 90 Russia-linked entities. It has targeted Rosneft and Lukoil, “which together export 3.1 million barrels of oil per day,” the country's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office said in a statement.
Rosneft alone is responsible for 6% of global and nearly half of all Russian oil production, according to the statement.
The fresh set of sanctions include four oil terminals in China and 44 oil tankers transporting Russian oil. The vessels, which are allegedly a part of Russia’s shadow fleet, have facilitated illicit oil trades, circumventing the G7 oil price cap, the UK government said earlier.
By using these poorly maintained vessels to circumvent oil sanctions, Russia has effectively traded outside the imposed price caps implemented by Washington and its allies (the G7 group of countries).
The UK has also targeted Indo-Russian oil refiner Nayara Energy, which allegedly imported 100 million bbls of Russian crude worth over $5 billion in 2024 alone.
It has further sanctioned seven LNG tankers and the Chinese Beihai LNG terminal. “Beihai has been importing LNG from Arctic LNG2 – the severely disrupted flagship Russian LNG project, sanctioned by the UK in February 2024,” the official statement read.
To further restrict the flow of funds to the Kremlin, the UK announced that it will ban imports of oil products refined in third countries from Russian-origin crude oil.
The sanctions come as Russian President Vladimir Putin kicked off Russian Energy Week in Moscow earlier this week.
The price cap is a strategic measure aimed at reducing Russia's export revenue. This limitation is intended to restrict the financial resources that Russia can allocate towards sustaining its military operations in Ukraine.
By Aparupa Mazumder
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