The G7 countries and allies have postponed the regular review of the price limit for Russian oil.
This was reported to Reuters by sources familiar with the matter.
The G7 countries, together with the European Union and Australia, introduced a price cap mechanism for Russian oil in December 2022, and a price ceiling for petroleum products came into effect in February. Initially, EU countries agreed to review the price limit every two months and adjust it if necessary, while the G7 promised to do so "if necessary."
However, the G7 has not reviewed the restrictions since March, and four people familiar with G7 policy said the group had no plans to do so anytime soon.
"There were some talks in June or July about a review, or at least about it, but it never formally happened," the Reuters source stated.
Some EU countries were interested in revising, but the United States and G7 members had little desire to change the price cap, the sources said.
Russia was forced to cut oil and product exports immediately after the price ceiling was imposed because it struggled to find enough ships to transport the oil it had. However, the Russians have managed to export most of their output using carriers that do not require Western insurance coverage.
According to Reuters estimates, about 40 intermediaries transported at least half of the total exports of crude oil and petroleum products from Russia between March and June 2023.
- Russiaʼs "shadow fleet" helps circumvent such sanctions, which has about 600 vessels, which is about 10% of the worldʼs large tankers. Bloomberg discovered two companies from India and the United Arab Emirates that help Russia avoid sanctions by providing it with oil tankers.
- Recently, the US warned Turkey about the "real risk of sanctions" if its companies continue to help Russia with oil exports.