Russia has been raking in up to $150 million a day from oil exports, becoming one of the main beneficiaries of tensions in the Middle East amid disruption to global energy flows. According to the Financial Times, Moscow has already received between $1.3 billion and $1.9 billion in additional revenue from taxes on oil exports after logistical bottlenecks in the Strait of Hormuz led to a surge in demand for Russian crude from Asian importers. The increase in demand was mainly fueled by India and China, while the US eased pressure on India to reduce purchases of Russian oil. Under these conditions, the price of Russian Urals oil could reach $70-80 per barrel this month, compared to around $52 per barrel on average over the past two months. If these levels hold, the Russian government could collect between $3.3 billion and $4.9 billion in additional revenue by the end of March. The situation represents a major change of trend for Moscow, which before the outbreak of the conflict in Iran was faced with falling oil prices and decreasing exports to India, largely as a result of pressure exerted by Washington. Data published by the International Energy Agency showed that Russia's exports of oil and oil products fell 11.4% in February to 6.6 million barrels per day, the lowest level since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
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