The price of Brent crude oil, the reference for Europe, rises again by almost 2% this Monday, January 13. It thus exceeds 81 dollars per barrel, reaching its highest level since the end of August. At 7:15 a.m., Brent rose 1.86%, to $81.24, according to Bloomberg data. The price of crude oil maintains the upward trend of last week, since On Friday it shot up 3.69%.
The rebound in the price of oil comes after the president of the United States Joe Biden, together with the United Kingdom, has announced a comprehensive package of sanctions against Russia and its oil and gas industry. Specifically, it sanctioned two of Russia’s largest oil producers and exporters: Gazprom Neftthe third largest oil company in the country, and Surgutneftegas, another prominent company in the energy sector.
US measures
“The United States is taking radical action against Russia’s key source of revenue to finance its brutal and illegal war against Ukraine,” declared the Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen. In this way, the Treasury Department, in consultation with the State Department, has issued an order that prohibits, as of February 27, the provision of US oil services to people located in Russia, cutting off this country’s access to the American services related to the extraction and production of crude oil and other petroleum products.
In addition, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), dependent on the Treasury Department, decided to sanction two of the oil producers and exporters Russia’s largest companies, Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas.
Aside from these two companies, OFAC is designating more than two dozen subsidiaries of Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas, so that all entities that are 50% or more owned, directly or indirectly, by Gazprom Neft, Surgutneftegas or their listed subsidiaries, will also be subject to the block, even if they are not identified by OFAC.
Regarding seaborne exports of Russian oil, U.S. officials note that Russia has become increasingly reliant on vessels engaging in high-risk shipping practices to facilitate illicit or sanctionable activities, known as “floats in the shadows.”
With the announced measures, The US sanctions a total of 183 vessels, mostly tankers that are part of said “shadow fleet”, as well as tankers owned by fleet operators based in Russia.
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