EU agrees $60 cap on Russian seaborne oil
EU limits the price of Russian oil (Photo:REUTERS/Christian Hartmann)
The European Union has agreed to set the maximum price for maritime shipments of Russian oil at $60 per barrel, The New York Times reported on Dec. 2, citing Polish EU Ambassador Andrzej Sadosh.
NYT sources among diplomats and officials said the G-7 is expected to make a formal announcement on the subject on Dec. 4. EU’s embargo on Russian crude oil imports comes into force on Dec. 5.
Bloomberg writes that Poland and the Baltic countries have successfully lobbied for a mechanism which allows to review the oil price cap every two months. At the same time, the cap would automatically be lowered to 5% below the market price, should it ever fall below $60.
According to the agency, "one of the main goals of this (price cap) measure is to keep the flow of Russian oil to world markets", but the decision is "less generous than previous proposals, because of the pressure from Poland and the Baltic countries.
Russia stated that it wouldn’t sell oil and gas to countries that joined the restrictions. Bloomberg reports that Russia has already lost up to 90% of its key oil market in northern EU countries.
Earlier, the Yermak-McFaul International Working Group, which deals with Russian sanctions, recommended that the upper price limit for Russian oil shouldn’t exceed $35 per barrel.
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