In February 2022, several Western countries including the United States of America, the European Union, Australia and more imposed sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine.
Crude exports were one of the things on the list with a price cap of $60 per barrel being placed. This means that Western shippers and insurers would not be able to trade Russian oil if it costs over $60 per barrel and was a means to reduce the Western dependency on Russian crude.
Recently, it has been reported that the European Union might be getting more oil from Russia than the US.
What Is Happening With Europe And Russian Gas?
In a report of 1 September 2024, German newspaper Die Welt claimed that Russia has now become the EU’s second-largest supplier of gas, surpassing the US. According to a Hindustan Times report, an analysis alleged that Russian gas took up approximately 17% of all European imports in Q2 of 2024.
According to reports, the German newspaper used data from Bruegel, a Brussels-based think tank.
The report also said that “European customers reportedly received 12.27 billion cubic meters of US LNG in 2024 Q2, whereas in the same period, Russia delivered 12.73 billion cubic meters to the EU.”
As per another Financial Times report from June of this year, Russia overtook the US for importing gas to Europe for the first time in two years in May.
This was despite the sanctions put on Russia, especially fossil fuel and the European Union (EU)’s efforts to trim down their dependence on the region for it.
Tom Marzec-Manser, head of gas analytics at consultancy ICIS reportedly said, “It’s striking to see the market share of Russian gas and [liquefied natural gas] inch higher in Europe after all we have been through, and all the efforts made to decouple and de-risk energy supply.”
Europe had leaned toward the LNG gas in 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine after Moscow stopped its pipeline gas supplies to Europe and the EU also placed sanctions on the country along with the US.
LNG gas was imported from the US on specialised vessels, and the US overtook Russia as Europe’s gas supplier in September 2022.
However, as per ICIS data, while LNG from the US made up only 14% of the supply to the region, Russian piped gas and LNG shipments made up 15% of the total supply to the EU, along with the UK, Switzerland, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and North Macedonia.
Read More: Are Indian Tourists Being Allegedly Tricked Into Joining The Russian Military?
It is reported that the LNG is expensive for Europe though, with the purchase of it aggravating the economic crisis the EU is witnessing currently.
This is reported to be a shift with the HT report claiming that “both EU and US have lectured countries like India in past to not import Russian energy”.
However, even after these sanctions, India was reportedly still buying oil from Russia. There were concerns about whether this would impact relations with Europe and the US.
Jen Psaki, White House Press Secretary, in 2022 said that while India’s deal with Russia is not violating the sanctions put by the US, “However, such a decision could put India on the wrong side of history. But also think about where you want to stand when history books are written at this moment in time. Support for the Russian leadership is support for an invasion that obviously is having a devastating impact.”
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar speaking with German economic daily, Handelsblatt in February 2024 explained this saying, “Everyone conducts a relationship based on their past experiences. If I look at the history of India post-independence, Russia has never hurt our interests.”
He added, “Just as I do not expect Europe to have a view of China that is identical to mine, Europe should understand that I cannot have a view of Russia that is identical to the European one. Let us accept that there are natural differences in relationships.”
EU’s foreign minister Josep Borrel in a May 2023 interview with the Financial Times said, “If diesel or gasoline is entering Europe… coming from India and being produced with Russian oil, that is certainly a circumvention of sanctions and member states have to take measures.”
He further said, “That India buys Russian oil, it’s normal. And if, thanks to our limitations on the price of oil, India can buy this oil much cheaper, well the less money Russia gets, the better.”
“But if they use that in order to be a centre where Russian oil is being refined and by-products are being sold to us… we have to act.”
This is about how Russian oil is reported to be entering European markets through Indian refiners. Indian refiners were reportedly refining the Russian oil bought and then exporting it to various foreign markets.
India’s foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, however, had dismissed this saying, “I really don’t see the basis for your question. My understanding of Council regulations is that if Russian crude is substantially transformed in a third country it is not treated as Russian any more.”
The United States and the United Kingdom, although, have never outright condemned India for buying Russian imports.
In an Al Jazeera report from March 2022, Daleep Singh, the US deputy national security adviser for international economics, said Washington was “ready to help India diversify its energy resources, much like is the case for defence resources over a period of time” but that “there is no prohibition at present on energy imports from Russia.”
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during a visit to India in 2022 speaking with reporters said, “I think it’s very important that we respect other countries’ decisions about the issues that they face; India is a sovereign nation. I’m not going to tell India what to do.”
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: Hindustan Times, Financial Times, Al Jazeera
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