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European Firms Double Shipments of Russian Oil In Spite of Sanctions–Report

CC0 / / Oil barrel
Oil barrel - Sputnik International, 1920, 08.06.2022
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Economists say Russia is on track for record energy earnings as European shipping firms move unprecedented quantities of Russian oil–just not to Europe.
The amount of Russian oil being transported by European shipping firms has skyrocketed from 31 million barrels in February to 58 million barrels in May, according to a new analysis, as anti-Russian sanctions imposed by the European Union and the United States continue to backfire.
Though a recently-passed sixth round of sanctions aimed at blocking EU consumption of Russian energy has largely succeeded in preventing European customers from accessing affordable oil, there are no such restrictions preventing firms from moving Russian oil elsewhere.
As a result, companies in major shipping hubs like Greece, Malta, and Cyprus have reaped record profits as sanctions ostensibly meant to isolate and impoverish Russians have instead wreaked havoc on European economies. According to a shipping industry source reportedly interviewed by The Independent, “a large tanker departing Primorsk could collect $32,500 a day as of Friday, compared with less than $10,000” before the Russian special military operation in Ukraine began in February.
The uptick in profitability is due mainly to the fact that global oil prices have shot through the roof as Western efforts to destroy Russia’s economy seem to have had the opposite effect. On Tuesday, the cost of a barrel of crude oil hit $119.95, its highest level since prices peaked in the summer of 2008 amid the Great Recession. As a number of economic analysts have already noted, the trend means Russia is on track for record energy earnings this year.
Meanwhile, working people throughout the West have largely been left to figure out how to handle surging gas prices on their own. As one vehemently anti-Russian academic reportedly complained to The Independent, “ordinary citizens in European countries have been paying more for Russian oil without actually punishing Russia–in fact, only increasing Russia’s revenues.” As the EU ponders how to pursue a seventh round of sanctions on the country, officials in Moscow are likely wondering: with enemies like these, who needs friends?
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