In the event of an EU oil embargo, Russia continues to expect bubbling revenues from energy sales. Alexander Novak, the deputy prime minister, told the political discussion forum that export volumes will be restored after the US boycott of Russian oil.
Due to the logistical effort, the EU will have to get the oil bought from Russia from elsewhere in the future, which will make it more expensive overall. Novak said Russia would direct its oil to markets where EU countries would buy it more expensively.
The Moscow government described the Western sanctions against Russia in the course of the aggressive war against Ukraine as ineffective or rather harmful for the economy of the EU and the USA. The high energy prices are already benefiting the budget of the commodity superpower, which depends to a large extent on the income from the oil and gas business.
Nowak said the sanctions only increased delivery times, required more ships to be dispatched and made transport more expensive. “But the oil isn’t going anywhere, it’s just being tipped from one glass to the other.” “We end up with the same result, just with the destruction of the historical connections and the associated supply chains.”
With a view to gas consumption in the EU, Nowak said that the start of operation of the completed Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline is currently out of the question. “The project is currently frozen for political reasons. But I think it will be needed in the future,” said the deputy prime minister.
The line through the Baltic Sea is competitive compared to other transport routes. The liquid gas from the USA was described by Russia as dirty and expensive.
