WSJ: Japan buys Russian oil at prices above $60 per barrel

Japan has obtained from the United States an exception from the ceiling agreed by the G7 countries on Russian oil at $ 60 per barrel, reports The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). According to the publication, the Japanese authorities justified this by the fact that they need access to Russian energy resources. At the same time, the WSJ clarifies that Russian natural gas imports to Japan are “relatively small” and amount to about one-tenth of supplies. According to analysts, Japan’s dependence on Russian fuel “contributed to Tokyo’s hesitation about more fully supporting Ukraine in its war with Russia.”

From December 5, 2022, the oil price ceiling at $60 per barrel came into force, from February 5 – for oil products from Russia at $100 and $45 per barrel (for products that are traded at a premium and a discount to oil, respectively). Japan supported the introduction of a price ceiling for Russian oil within the G7, but achieved an exemption for supplies from the Sakhalin-2 project. The government of the country called Sakhalin-2 a key source of liquefied natural gas supplies to Japan.

After the introduction of restrictions, most of the Russian resource was redirected to China and India. March 12 Bloomberg sources reportedthat India has decided to support caps on oil prices, but Reuters sources are not confirmed. Ministry of Energy claimsthat Russia was able to redirect the volume of supplies of oil and oil products that fell due to the embargo of the European Union and the G7 countries.

About the situation on the market – in the material “Kommersant” “Russian oil is asked to bend down”.

Laura Keffer