Ukraine: "The world cannot do without Russian oil or gas" despite calls for an embargo
Russia is one of the world's leading oil and gas producers.
Here, the logo of the Russian giant Gazprom on one of its gas stations in Moscow, April 16, 2021. AFP - KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV
Text by: RFI Follow
3 mins
While the conflict in Ukraine is already having an impact on fuel prices, the head of Ukrainian diplomacy on Saturday February 26 called on Westerners to “
impose an embargo on
Russian oil”.
But such a measure "
cannot be implemented
", because Russia is the world's second largest exporter of crude oil, providing 11.5% of the oil supply, according to Pierre Terzian, an expert on oil issues.
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“
Isolate Russia, impose an oil embargo, ruin its economy
”: this is the appeal that the Ukrainian Foreign Minister launched to world leaders.
But such
sanctions
are unthinkable, according to Pierre terzian, director of the weekly newsletter
Petrostratégie
, expert in oil issues, because Russia is the world's third largest producer.
The cruel reality is this: the world cannot do without Russian oil or gas. Russia exports more than eight million barrels a day of crude oil and refined product. There is no way to overwrite this volume. We can barely,
by mobilizing Saudi Arabia 100
% and the Emirates
100
%,
manage to fill between two and three million barrels per day.
But the rest, we will not be able to find.
So unfortunately, this threat cannot be carried out.
The purpose of the sanctions is to hurt the Russian economy and force Moscow to find a solution.
If we decree an embargo on Russian oil or gas, it is not Russia that will suffer, but the whole world.
From there, there is no hesitation
!
According to Pierre Terzian, "the world cannot do without Russian oil"
Alexis Bedu
Even without an embargo, the war has already had
an impact on oil prices
, since Moscow provides 11.5% of world supply and is the second largest exporter: oil and gas prices are soaring.
Oil rose above $100 a barrel, hitting $105 on Thursday (February 24th), its highest in eight years.
While some 2.3 million barrels of Russian crude oil leave for Europe every day, the market will remain volatile as long as the conflict lasts, according to Pierre Terzian.
Oil prices and gas prices will remain completely at the mercy of geopolitical developments.
If the situation worsens, prices will rise.
If, on the contrary, we see negotiations or solutions in sight, prices could fall, because there are currently no physical shortages, neither of oil nor of gas.
So the rise in prices is due to psychological reasons and geopolitical fears.
Having said that, the price increase was not huge, because the market had kind of anticipated it.
There was even a drop in prices the day after the attack, because the whole world learned - and therefore the oil sector - that Russian oil and gas would not be affected by *the sanctions*.
So there was a small price drop.
“Energy prices will remain volatile as long as the conflict lasts”
Alexis Bedu
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