Russia fights for oil revenues. The first such delivery in years

February 27, 2023, 20:53 | Business Insider

| Ann

Russia is under pressure to maintain oil revenues. A cargo of Russian raw material is headed for storage tanks in Ghana, a country that is itself an exporter. This would be the first shipment of Russian oil to West Africa since at least 2018, writes Bloomberg.

This suggests traders may be scouring the market for new buyers of Russian oil after the European Union imposed an oil embargo in December. The sanctions made Moscow heavily dependent on Chinese and Indian purchases.

The tanker Theseus arrived in Ghana’s territorial waters on Friday, carrying around 600,000. barrels of Russian oil from a Black Sea port, according to the tanker tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.

While the tanker was on its way to the country, the director general of the Ghana Petroleum Authority said the shipment would be blocked if destined for the country.

This would be the first delivery of Russian oil to the West African country since at least October 2018.

Russia under pressure to maintain oil revenues

Russia is under pressure to maintain its oil revenues. According to the International Energy Agency, Russia’s oil revenues fell by almost 20% in December. compared to the previous month after the price cap introduced by the EU resulted in large discounts on domestic crude oil.

Ghana itself is a small oil exporter, sending an average of around 140,000 tons of oil each year. barrels per day over the past six months, according to tanker tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. It is also next to Nigeria and Angola, the two largest suppliers in Sub-Saharan Africa.