Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia has earned 93 billion euros from the export of fossil fuels. In the first 100 days of the war, the bulk of Russian oil and gas exports went to the European Union. This is reported by the independent Finnish research center for Energy and Clean Air (CREA) Monday.
In the period from late February to early June, the EU accounted for 61 percent of Russia’s fossil fuel exports, according to CREA’s research. Its value was approximately 57 billion euros.
At country level, China was the largest importer with 12.6 billion euros. Germany and Italy follow in second and third place with 12.1 and 7.8 billion euros respectively.
Crude oil is Russia’s largest source of income at EUR 46 billion, followed by pipeline gas, oil products, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and coal. Ukraine urges western countries to cut all trade with Russia.
EU wants to cut Russian gas imports by two-thirds
Earlier this month, the EU agreed to halt most of Russian oil imports. While the economic bloc aims to cut Russian gas imports by two-thirds this year, an embargo is currently out of the question.
In May this year, the volume of Russian fossil fuel exports fell. But thanks to the global rise in fossil fuel prices, Moscow still achieved record export revenues. Russia’s average export prices were about 60 percent higher than last year, according to CREA.
Some countries also buy more fuels from Russia. This includes China, India, the United Arab Emirates and France, the report said.
“As the EU considers tougher sanctions against Russia, France has increased its imports to become the world’s largest buyer of LNG,” said CREA analyst Lauri Myllyvirta. According to the analyst, the country is making conscious use of Russian energy in the aftermath of the war. He calls for an embargo on all Russian fossil fuels.
–
