According to media reports, Russia’s leadership is discussing three possible reactions to the price cap for Russian oil introduced by the West. One option is a complete ban on Russian oil companies selling the raw material to countries that support the price cap, business daily Vedomosti reported in its Wednesday edition.
Indirect sale blocked
Specifically, these are the states of the EU and the G7 group of the leading Western industrialized nations. In this case, indirect purchases via third countries would also be blocked.
The second variant is a ban on contracts in which the upper price limit is fixed. In this case, it is irrelevant which country is the buyer, it said.
As a third possible countermeasure, a discount limit is being discussed. This means that sellers of the Russian oil type Urals could not give more than a percentage discount compared to the world market price for the North Sea oil type Brent, which has yet to be determined. Traditionally, Urals is traded at a discount to Brent in the markets.
Experts disagree
The EU and G7 have set a price cap of $60 per barrel for Russian oil. This is below the current market price. The Russian leadership recently made it clear that under no circumstances would they submit to this upper price limit.
Energy Minister Alexander Nowak predicted a significant increase in the price of oil on the world markets due to the restrictions imposed by the West. Experts are still divided on the consequences of the decision.