Despite efforts in recent years to transition away from Russian gas, many of Europe's economies are still heavily dependent on it. The IMF has released a report indicating that the loss of Russian gas supplies could cause economic contractions of up to 6 percent in some nations, including Czechia and the Slovak Republic. The IMF reports: Dependence on Russia for gas, and other energy sources, varies widely by country. How could a Russian natural gas cutoff weigh on Europe’s economies? #IMFBlog rounds up three new staff research papers examining this question: https://t.co/aZBFX6dWnj … [Read more...]

Despite international approbation of commerce with Russia, India and China have quietly been buying Russian oil. Bloomberg News reports: China’s oil refiners are discreetly purchasing cheap Russian crude as the nation’s supply continues to seep into the market. Unlike India’s state-run oil refiners, which have issued a number of tenders seeking to buy Russia’s flagship Urals crude among other grades, traders say China’s state processors are negotiating privately under the radar with sellers. The nation’s independent refiners are also quietly buying, according to traders who asked not to be … [Read more...]

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates hold the bulk of the world's spare oil capacity. With prices for oil surging, Saudi Arabia's state run oil company, Saudi Aramco was asked if there was much oil to spare, and its answer was, essentially, "not much." Reuters reports: Global oil demand is growing healthily as economies recover from the pandemic and spare production capacity is declining, the CEO of Saudi Arabia's state oil company Aramco said on Sunday. Oil prices have surged to 14 year highs above $100 per barrel in recent weeks as Russia's invasion of Ukraine prompted fears of … [Read more...]

Senators from both Republican and Democratic Parties have come out to criticize the Biden administration for its attempt to open up Venezuelan oil supplies to America while President Nicolás Maduro runs the country. Gideon Long and Michael Stott report for the Financial Times: The Biden administration saw the Ukraine crisis as an opportunity to re-engage with Nicolás Maduro’s authoritarian regime in Venezuela, hoping to secure alternative oil supplies and prise away a key Moscow ally. But after news leaked of a secret mission to Caracas by three top White House officials, sparking a … [Read more...]

Americans don't use Russian oil because it makes economic sense, they use it because bad policies have made American oil for American consumers make less sense. Chief among these bad policies is the Jones Act, which strangles the ability of American oil producers to get their product to consumers in the same country. At Cato Institute, Colin Grabow explains: With imports of Russian oil (as well as coal and natural gas) now banned, the country’s refineries must decide on alternative sources. The good news is that there are U.S. grades of crude oil well‐​suited for refineries on the East and … [Read more...]