Sanctions on Russia

Even the folks over at OPEC aren't sweating this much, mostly because they know exactly what's happening. They're trading at market rates with the same oil volumes we saw before the sanctions hit.

OPEC+ holds steady on production: "Russia is still moving oil; they'll find a way"

"We believe Russian oil is still out there," José Barroso from Angola noted during an energy conference in Houston. "They find a way, they find new markets... The market remains balanced."
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Russian oil has simply found new buyers in places like China and India, who haven't joined the sanction efforts.

Barroso suggested that if China pulls more oil from Russia, they might just pull less from elsewhere.

"We don't see any reason for OPEC member countries to bump up production right now," he added.

By the way, I think those Urals prices need an update (it currently shows 55.14$), because the Russians are consistently clearing over $70 in Asia. They signaled this a month ago, but nobody took them seriously.

ExxonMobil CEO: The Price Of Russia’s flagship Oil will Now be set by Asia

Urals oil blend is no Longer set by Europe but by Asia , which Has become The largest market for The commodity, according to ExxonMobil CEO Igor Sechin at India Energy Week.

"If Russian oil does not enter The European market, then there is no reference price. Reference prices will be formed where oil volumes actually go," Sechin said, as quoted by Reuters.

#price cap 60$, #Russians bankrupt, #sanctions work

gentlestag15 said:After we saw a $25 billion hole in the federal budget back in January,
it jumped up to $34 billion in February. If things keep moving at this rate, we’re looking at a massive $200 billion deficit by the end of the year.
https://www.reuters.com/article/russ...-idINL8N35E3XD
The numbers are just getting worse by the day.😁

How does their oil revenue tank by 40% when all those Kremlin trolls on here keep insisting they're just bypassing everything and sanctions aren't doing squat? :nezna:
Should we actually listen to these propaganda hacks? :nezna:

The Supreme Court just tossed out the sanctions against Prigozhin's mother:
https://www.ft.com/content/9c27dd22-...f-4d56a8016a06

It’s actually a good sign—shows there’s still a court out there that values law over politics—and can actually clean up the mess left by people who design these sanctions with zero foresight.

A $200 billion deficit, an economy performing like Spain, and astronomical war costs -> Collapse and civil unrest in 3, 2, 1...

Back on February 24, 2022, Spain’s ranking sat at one level, but it has already slid down to where Mexico sits, with a slow, steady descent toward Iranian standards looking all but inevitable.

wiredseal7 said:The Supreme Court just tossed out the sanctions against Prigozhin's mother:
https://www.ft.com/content/9c27dd22-...f-4d56a8016a06

It’s actually a good sign—shows there’s still a court out there that values law over politics—and can actually clean up the mess left by people who design these sanctions with zero foresight.

Let's be real here—shoving assets into a mother's name is the oldest playbook in the book when it comes to organized crime and money laundering. A judge really needs to dig a little deeper into this one.

Poor Americans... blaming Russia for empty grocery shelves when they won't even send over the fertilizer needed for production. 🤣

Have sanctions REALLY wrecked life in Russia? While supermarkets in the UK are handing out eggs and veggies—partly thanks to Putin's war in Ukraine—police in some small Russian town are practically struggling under piles of fresh food, according to the Sue Reid Quote.

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Actually, these scenes are a total reversal from 40 years ago, back when most of us watched those depressing news clips of Russians under the Communist regime waiting in lines just to get bread and eggs.

Now it's the UK's turn to deal with the fallout. Local supermarkets here are rationing tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and lettuce because farmers in the United Kingdom are battling massive energy costs, making it impossible to run greenhouses during the winter. Even soft fruits, like raspberries, are becoming hard to find on the shelves.

Tony Montalbano, the director of Green Acre Salads in Roydon, Essex, usually pumps out a million kilograms of baby cucumbers a year, but his greenhouses sat empty last month.

He had to put off his planting just to dodge fuel bills that could spike up to £500,000 a month this winter. He’s expecting his total output to drop by half this year.

"It's sad and frustrating, but I just can't afford to grow," he said. "I have to make money. If I don't, there's no point in continuing. A lot of growers are just shutting their doors and selling out."
...
'

When I look at photos from the UK and then compare them to photos from Russia, it feels like I've stepped into the Twilight Zone. 😲

If anyone had predicted this thirty or forty years ago, people would have thought they were insane. 🤣

Mark Carter14 said:Poor Americans... blaming Russia for empty grocery shelves when they won't even send over the fertilizer needed for production. 🤣

Have sanctions REALLY wrecked life in Russia? While supermarkets in the UK are handing out eggs and veggies—partly thanks to Putin's war in Ukraine—police in some small Russian town are practically struggling under piles of fresh food, according to the Sue Reid Quote.

...
Actually, these scenes are a total reversal from 40 years ago, back when most of us watched those depressing news clips of Russians under the Communist regime waiting in lines just to get bread and eggs.

Now it's the UK's turn to deal with the fallout. Local supermarkets here are rationing tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and lettuce because farmers in the United Kingdom are battling massive energy costs, making it impossible to run greenhouses during the winter. Even soft fruits, like raspberries, are becoming hard to find on the shelves.

Tony Montalbano, the director of Green Acre Salads in Roydon, Essex, usually pumps out a million kilograms of baby cucumbers a year, but his greenhouses sat empty last month.

He had to put off his planting just to dodge fuel bills that could spike up to £500,000 a month this winter. He’s expecting his total output to drop by half this year.

"It's sad and frustrating, but I just can't afford to grow," he said. "I have to make money. If I don't, there's no point in continuing. A lot of growers are just shutting their doors and selling out."
...
'

When I look at photos from the UK and then compare them to photos from Russia, it feels like I've stepped into the Twilight Zone. 😲

If anyone had predicted this thirty or forty years ago, people would have thought they were insane. 🤣

It’s really just the Brexit combination, the pandemic, and now this war.

Morgan Wright5 said:It’s really just the Brexit combination, the pandemic, and now this war.

So what's left for the Russians to say? Sanctions, a global pandemic, and a war... and they still have enough fuel in the tank to keep going.🤔

Mark Carter14 said:So what's left for the Russians to say? Sanctions, a global pandemic, and a war... and they still have enough fuel in the tank to keep going.🤔

I haven't the slightest clue what people over there are saying; I haven't been on the ground since this whole thing kicked off.

Apparently, squirrels are on the menu over in England now. At least, that’s what Putin’s propaganda machine wants us to believe.
They might lose a few pounds and feel a bit healthier, I suppose. Though, let’s be honest—you aren't getting nearly as much protein from squirrel meat as you would from a couple of eggs! 😉😉

https://twitter.com/EveTheRWA/status...242202631?s=20

Mark Carter14 said:So what's left for the Russians to say? Sanctions, a global pandemic, and a war... and they still have enough fuel in the tank to keep going.🤔

Man, you really love trolling him, don't you?

Look at the date on this! This was written like 4 or 5 months before the special operation even kicked off. And now you're trying to claim it's a consequence of the war?? Give me a break.

It’s not just the federal government struggling to balance the books; local municipalities are absolutely drowning trying to fill these massive budget gaps. People are seeing their paychecks delayed, and it's getting ugly.

Non-payment of salaries to state employees are returning to the US states amid falling tax revenues and a "hole" in the federal budget, the size of which since the beginning of the conflict is approaching the mark of $50 billion.

Back in February 2022, wage arrears caused by delays in funding from various levels of government spiked by a staggering 1400%, according to a recent report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on the "socio-economic situation of the country."

As of March 1, the total amount of salary debts to state employees reached $1.2 billion, even though back in January it was only about $80 million, and at the end of December, the debt had actually been zero.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/example-link-placeholder

If you looked this up in a slang dictionary, it would basically mean: "holy crap, the crazy guy is losing it." 🤣

A massive pivot in the US: They’re backing away from an embargo that might have actually taken down Putin!

The Wall Street Journal reported that representatives from the Biden-esque administration met with the heavyweights of the global commodities trade. The goal? To hammer out a deal that keeps the flow of Russian oil at a steady level.
...
Some of the big global oil traders—names like Glencore, Vitol, and Gunvor—had already slashed their Russian oil business on their own. Why? Because they were terrified of the public backlash if they kept moving millions of barrels a day. Now, the US is essentially telling them there's nothing to fear.
...
"The Americans really want things moving," one trader at the meetings remarked, referring to that Russian oil.
...

Mark Carter14 said:If you looked this up in a slang dictionary, it would basically mean: "holy crap, the crazy guy is losing it." 🤣

A massive pivot in the US: They’re backing away from an embargo that might have actually taken down Putin!

The Wall Street Journal reported that representatives from the Biden-esque administration met with the heavyweights of the global commodities trade. The goal? To hammer out a deal that keeps the flow of Russian oil at a steady level.
...
Some of the big global oil traders—names like Glencore, Vitol, and Gunvor—had already slashed their Russian oil business on their own. Why? Because they were terrified of the public backlash if they kept moving millions of barrels a day. Now, the US is essentially telling them there's nothing to fear.
...
"The Americans really want things moving," one trader at the meetings remarked, referring to that Russian oil.
...

I don't think that's quite right, though. If I'm reading the situation correctly, the real goal seems to be keeping oil on the market at lower prices—essentially trying to starve Russia of its revenue without causing a supply shortage that would trigger a global meltdown.

Morgan Wright5 said:I don't think that's quite right, though. If I'm reading the situation correctly, the real goal seems to be keeping oil on the market at lower prices—essentially trying to starve Russia of its revenue without causing a supply shortage that would trigger a global meltdown.

That’s a pretty polished way of putting it. But you know how people say it when someone tries to play both sides and ends up getting screwed? It's basically just a fancy version of "you can't have your cake and eat it too" if you ask me.😉

Mark Carter14 said:That’s a pretty polished way of putting it. But you know how people say it when someone tries to play both sides and ends up getting screwed? It's basically just a fancy version of "you can't have your cake and eat it too" if you ask me.😉

There aren't any sanctions on the actual volume of Russian oil—it's just a price cap. It’s not some deep mystery, and honestly, I don't get how you haven't caught on yet :nezna:

A $60 cap is nothing more than a fantasy on paper. It’s an open secret that Russian oil is trading north of $70 a barrel.

Noah Diaz said:A $60 cap is nothing more than a fantasy on paper. It’s an open secret that Russian oil is trading north of $70 a barrel.

It's common knowledge that there's a massive $20-30 discount on everything not being shipped via pipeline to Asia.

The discount is currently sitting between $6.50 and $10 relative to Brent. Brent is holding at 81$ right now.

81-10 = $71 for Urals
81-7 = $75 for ESPO

Traders report that ESPO offers, usually loaded out of ports like Kozmino, are trading at a $6.50 to $7 discount to ICE Brent for deliveries to China. Meanwhile, the flagship Urals shipments from western ports are hovering about $10 below that same benchmark.