Bloomberg: talks on Russian oil price ceiling stalled

Negotiations between the EU countries on the introduction of a price ceiling for Russian oil stalled, as the governments could not agree on the mechanism of the proposed cap, informs Bloomberg citing sources.

Thus, the European Commission proposed a ceiling of $65 per barrel, but the Baltic countries and Poland rejected this figure, considering it too “generous”. At the same time, countries with a developed maritime transport and logistics infrastructure, such as Greece and Malta, opposed the introduction of a ceiling below $70 per barrel.

According to the agency, EU ambassadors will continue consultations at night, if they can agree, then negotiations on this matter can be resumed as early as Thursday, November 24. A meeting of EU energy ministers is scheduled for the same day, during which measures to curb gas prices will be discussed.

The EU wants to impose a cap on Russian oil prices of $65-$70 per barrel, which will allow the country to continue to profit from the sale of oil. However, the agency notes, since Russia already sells oil to a number of countries at a discount, the consequences of such a restriction would be minimal. The EU and the G7 originally planned to announce the price cap today, but this will require the approval of each EU country.

After the start of a special military operation, the G7 countries agreed on the introduction of a ceiling price for Russian oil. The EU countries approved the restriction as part of the eighth package of sanctions. The price ceiling for crude oil will come into force on December 5, 2022, and for petroleum products on February 5, 2023. However, the price ceiling itself has not yet been agreed upon.

The price ceiling means that companies will be prohibited from providing services for the transportation, insurance and financing of transactions with Russian oil if it was purchased at a price above the established limit. The idea is to step up sanctions pressure on Russia by limiting its oil revenues while keeping it flowing to world markets so as not to create a shortage that will fuel prices.

Speaking at the forumRussian Energy Week» On October 12, Russian President Vladimir Putin once again stressed that energy supplies to those countries that approve the price ceiling would be cut off. Before that, he repeatedly said that the introduction of restrictions would lead to an increase in energy prices. During the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF), Putin said that the idea of ​​imposing a price ceiling on energy resources is “nonsense and nonsense.”